Elevating the studio FromSoftware to new levels of success and contributing to its ability to develop this year’s Armored Core 6, Elden Ring can be seen as the culmination of the studio’s previous efforts that led up to it. It may delve into the open-world, but it still adheres to the formula of the Soulsborne games that came before it in many ways. The upcoming Shadow of the Erdtree expansion's development time, however, has become the longest of any expansion in the studio’s history following its announcement nearly a year ago. Elden Ring's DLC could be going beyond its predecessors in scope and could continue to surprise fans in another major way.