Elden Ring turns one: How do The Lands Between hold up a year later?

It’s been one year since Elden Ring, the action role-playing game developed by FromSoftware and published by Bandai Namco, released on Feb. 25, 2022, bringing the beloved Dark Souls formula to an open-world setting.

In that time, it became a commercial and critical success, selling more than 20 million copies, receiving near-perfect review scores from critics, and winning Game of the Year at The Game Awards.

It also topped Twitch’s viewership charts during its launch week, pulling 74.58 million hours watched, and it fared well on YouTube too—a feat that only adds to its list of accolades.

But while looking back paints it in a favorable light, how does it hold up in the here and now in terms of gameplay, player numbers, and viewership, and what could that mean for its future? The answer, in short, is quite well.

Elden Ring gameplay

The challenging nature of Elden Ring’s gameplay has helped it stand the test of time. Even after finishing the game multiple times with increased difficulty thanks to the New Game Plus feature, players have continued to find new and creative ways to make it harder, and in turn, continue to enjoy it.

One player, for example, finished it using a piano as the input device instead of a controller. Another finished it using only one hand, then repeated the feat while keeping their character at level one. The list of unconventional methods goes on, and it has kept the flame alive.

Like other FromSoftware titles, Elden Ring has also been a massive hit among speedrunners. Players have found all sorts of wild and wacky ways to finish it in record-breaking time. It’s evolved into a battle of constant one-upmanship that is still going strong.

Since mastering combat is a skill, the player-vs-player scene is still thriving, too. Patch 1.07 added separate damage-scaling weapons, skills, magic spells, and incantations when playing against other players in player-vs-player mode to fine-tune things.

Patch 1.08 came along shortly after. It added Colosseum Arenas, a new multiplayer feature allowing players to fight in teams or in free-for-all battles, so the battle-thirsty brawlers still have plenty to do.

And of course, the PC version of Elden Ring has become a massive hit in the modding community. Players can find all kinds of different mods, allowing them to experience it in a whole new way.

Elden Ring player count

When the PC version of Elden Ring released on Steam in March 2022, it averaged 522,066 concurrent players, peaking at 952,523. It dropped to 211,468 and 457,067, respectively, the following month, but the numbers were still impressive for a mostly single-player action RPG.

A year on, its player count is a shadow of what it once was, but it’s still doing quite well, spiking from a lowly 23,942 concurrent players in November 2022 to more than 50,000 in February 2023.

Because of that, it still hovers around the top 15 games on the Valve-owned platform in terms of player count—and that’s not even including the console numbers, which add to the total.

Elden Ring viewership

Elden Ring’s viewership numbers on Twitch are a far cry from what they once were, but it still averages around 15,000 viewers at all times across hundreds of channels—putting it in the top 30.

Speedrunners like Distortion2, Elajjaz, and alexelcapo, as well as dedicated PvP players like Peeve, are a big reason for that. Watching them do the impossible is still entertaining after all this time.

What’s next for Elden Ring?

All the signs point towards the fact that Elden Ring is in pretty good shape as it celebrates its one-year anniversary, but it begs the question—what lies ahead for the award-winning title?

The likeliest option is DLC content. Dark Souls 3, for reference, had two DLCs that were released within the first year. Elden Ring has already passed that point, but it will likely follow suit.

Given the sheer scale of its success, a sequel could be on the cards after those DLCs, too. It probably won’t happen for years, though, since FromSoftware is already working on Armored Core VI.

In the meantime, the developers could also expand on Elden Ring’s existing PvE and PvP content in the form of seasonal content and events—both of which will help keep things fresh.

Either way, FromSoftware will undoubtedly be pleased with how Elden Ring performed in its first year across the board. The fact it’s still doing well relative to its age is a bonus, and depending on what their plans for it are, it could have a second or even a third wind if they play their cards right.