Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree trailer is part lore dump, part war recruitment ad

FromSoftware released a new trailer for Elden Ring expansion Shadow of the Erdtree on Tuesday, giving fans of the open-world fantasy adventure a fresh look at the DLC’s story. That includes new details on its imposing new villain, Messmer the Impaler, a powerful demigod who appears to have a strong connection to characters from the original Elden Ring story.

Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree’s new trailer also hints at what sent the demigod Miquella to a new land, one that was crushed under the tyranny of Messmer’s flame, and for which Miquella sacrificed himself. The trailer ends with the followers of Miquella joining forces and beckoning new warriors to join them on their journey to depose Messmer and his burning legions.

Our latest look at Shadow of the Erdtree is something we’ve come to expect from FromSoft: a CG trailer that dives deeper into the opaque lore of Elden Ring and doesn’t offer anything in the way of new gameplay. But for students of Elden Ring myth, it’s a rich vein of information about characters and their allegiances in this complicated family story.

Shadow of the Erdtree will send players to an unexplored region known as the Land of Shadow, just a short egg ride from Mohgwyn Palace. There, in a landmass roughly the size of the game’s Limgrave region, they’ll explore the dark realm and follow in the footsteps of the mysterious Empyrean Miquella.

Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree will be released on June 21. The expansion is coming to PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and PC via Steam, just like the original Elden Ring.