"Shadow of the Elden Tree," the first DLC for From Software's "Elden Ring," has been released with the official launch of the game on June 21 with a three-minute-plus trailer showcasing the battle in the Land of Shadows

The trailer offers just a few glimpses of various enemy encounters, references from "Berserk," new weapon arts, and the all-too-famous presence of the demigod Michaela, brother of Marenia, one of the most notorious bosses of the "Elden Ring"

"The Elden Ring: Shadow of the Elder Tree" was first announced in a post on X (formerly Twitter) almost a year ago, in February 2023 It was little more than a concept art depicting a woman on the back of a horse looking down on a devastated Eldestree in a blaze of golden fire The post captivated the fandom, but it offered few details about what to expect from the DLC

And now, finally, our prayers to Queen Marika have been answered We are treated to long snippets of gameplay and scenarios An official release date has also been announced, giving those who have been waiting for "Tarnished" something to look forward to If that's not enough, pre-orders for the Collector's Edition and basic DLC are now available at various retailers

The "Shadow of the Eldestree" trailer opens with a shot of the aforementioned Michaela wrapped in an egg hidden in Morgwyn's palace From there, the video switches to an entirely new location scattered throughout this mysterious shadow land, "where the goddess Marika first set foot," as Bandai Namco puts it in a blog post

This new area seems to have been devastated by a terrible war led by Mesmer the Impaler, perhaps one of the main bosses Interested parties can also purchase Mesmer's helmet from the Bandai Namco store

Michaela will guide us through this new land, which, like the base game, is represented by a golden line extending from the Land of Grace Michaela herself and the goddess Marika will play an important role in the DLC's story, and they will face the new area of warfare head-on

The Land of Shadow is somehow disconnected from the Land of Narrowness, despite being in the same world We will travel to this land via the cocoon that houses the aforementioned Michaela, shown in the very first shot of the trailer, but Hidetaka Miyazaki, director of "The Elden Ring," asserted in an interview with IGN

"Shadow of the Elden Tree" will be From Software's largest DLC to date, covering various areas within the new map, which is "bigger than Rimgrave" The "Elden Ring" arsenal will feature a total of 10 major bosses utilizing up to eight new weapon categories

Miyazaki explained that the DLC will be far more challenging, likening the entire experience to Malenia's famous difficulty The director added that the team aimed to increase the difficulty so that it would be "more flexible in its approach" In addition, the world is more interconnected due to "more detailed and richer level design"

In a post to X (formerly Twitter), Yasuhiro Kitao, producer and marketing lead at From Software, also revealed a poster for the upcoming "Elden Ring" expansion The image depicts Messer the Impaler seated on his throne, with a golden Elden tree emerging from a world engulfed in flames in the background

"Elden Ring: Shadow of the Eldtree" is scheduled for release on June 21 on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and PC