That’s a whole lot of maidenless.
Last week, after two years of leaks, rumours, and speculation, FromSoftware finally unveiled when Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree will release. With the dam finally burst, players flooded back to the Lands Between.
That peak happens to coincide with the game's second anniversary, February 25.
Over the last 24 hours alone, Elden Ring peaked at 108,636 players. Even today, on a Monday morning, over 48,000 people are playing before half the world has woken up. They're no doubt scrambling to find and put Mohg to the blade so that they're ready to crawl into that cosy-looking cocoon and embark on their journey to the Land of Shadows.
The number of players skyrocketing isn't too surprising given the huge success of the trailer itself. It already has 8.3 million views and nearly half a million likes. People are clearly… Messmer-ized.
Bad puns aside, plenty are gearing up for the DLC, no doubt because many of our characters are neck-deep in New Game Plus. If you know FromSoftware, it's hardly an ideal place to start for an expansion.
FromSoft DLC is notoriously difficult, whether you're fighting Manus in Dark Souls or the shrimp-wielding Orphan of Kos in Bloodborne. You will get slapped silly, so it's better if the enemies aren't throwing punches that could splinter the Erdtree.
When the community isn't hoarding runes to put Margit in his place, they're busy digging through the new trailer, hoping to uncover some clue as to what's going on.
Naturally, as with any FromSoftware game, Berserk references have already been found. Messmer himself is wearing a crown ripped right from the pages of the manga, taken from Grunbeld. This has led many to believe that FromSoftware will go beyond aesthetic and have Messmer transform into a monstrous, writhing dragon, much like his Berserk counterpart.
Fans are also trying to work out where Messmer fits into the pantheon of demigods we've already met. Some believe he was tossed aside and stripped from the annals of history, much like Gwyn's son The Nameless King in Dark Souls, and others believe he is Miquella and Malenia's brother, given that their mother Queen Marika is from the Land of Shadow where he rules.
We'll find out shortly enough as Shadow of the Erdtree launches on June 21 later this year. Plenty of time to get a new character strung together.
