It’s been an exciting but ultimately disappointing day for fans of Elden Ring. Yes, the George R. R. Martin and Souls-inspired RPG is the subject of rumor yet again. This morning, VGC announced that they had heard the word of a leaked trailer circulating, but paired this rumor with a disappointing revelation that the game was delayed by “remote working conditions.” They went on to clarify that “due to the disruption, they believed it was unlikely Elden Ring would make it out this year.”
In wake of the news, Twitter erupted as small snippets of the trailer began to make their way onto the scene.
First, from Shpeshal_Ed, a seven-second clip showing a short intro and a brief glimpse of gameplay:
#EldenRing pic.twitter.com/Sz0dnY9zGg
— Shpeshal Ed (@Shpeshal_Ed) March 1, 2021
Then, another short, three-second leak of the trailer was made public by AestheticGamer1 on Twitter:
This isn’t from me, but I needed some way to share it elsewhere for those who care. #EldenRing pic.twitter.com/YxUNH9Fq2K
— AestheticGamer aka Dusk Golem (@AestheticGamer1) March 1, 2021
Unfortunately, the clips offered little to go on for impatient fans. Still, a battle broke out among fans surrounding the few seconds of gameplay footage. The cynics in the crowd calling the animations outdated and clunky with defenders cautioning against judging the game too quickly.
Still, while the trailers have offered a modicum of excitement, the real story is that Elden Ring is facing yet another delay and unlikely to release this year. So while these trailer leaks may attempt to abate the appetite of fans, there is still at least another year of waiting to be done. The full version of the now leaked trailer was expected at the next Microsoft Showcase but was promptly shot down by Aaron Greenberg, GM of Xbox Games Marketing via Twitter.
Just to set expectations: this is not happening. There are always things we have in the works, but nothing coming soon that would feature game announcements or world premieres like this. https://t.co/nO868SCbpZ
— Aaron Greenberg ??♂️?U (@aarongreenberg) February 28, 2021
The recent frenzy surrounding Elden Ring is the chaotic power of Twitter at its finest. We will have to wait patiently and separate truth from fiction as the dust settles. Until then, we’ll have to accept the fact that we might not see Elden Ring for a very long time.
