Elden Ring players convinced they’ve uncovered Shadow of the Erdtree’s setting

Elden Ring players are unsurprisingly already chomping at the bit to get into the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC, which is just under four months away from releasing.

Many players have already returned to The Lands Between in preparation for the expansion, with many others joining the fun for the first time, as evidenced by Elden Ring climbing back into Steam’s top-selling list alongside the second anniversary of its release.

But many players can’t help but continue to theory-craft about Shadow of the Erdtree, what it means for the lore and story of the universe, and even where it will take place—like a big cloud in the center of the map.

Elden Ring’s next adventure taking place in the mysterious, clouded area in the middle of the game’s five Divine Towers has been a long-standing theory ever since it went unused in the base game. But now, new images released alongside the DLC’s gameplay trailer have lent further evidence to the theory.

As spotted by Reddit user Corona_Australis, the image below shows that the area is indeed dead-center of the map and the midway point of all of the Divine Towers, which may be holding up a literal veil over the area, hence the “Land of Shadow” title for the new playable location.

The Divine Towers all housed Great Runes of gods and demigods such as Godrick, Radahn, Mohg, Rykard, and Malenia. And the area in the center of them has been obscured in the game since launch. But now, many are convinced that’s where we’re all headed.

“I like the idea that the center ocean area is just under a big veil that makes it invisible from the outside, however I’d also be inclined to believe that there used to be an area in the center of the map, but the Divine Towers were constructed in order to teleport it away/banish it to another dimension,” one player said.

A release from Bandai Namco describes the Land of Shadow as “a place obscured by the Erdtree,” which can be seen directly north of the cloudy location, and “where the goddess Marika first set foot.” For now, the theory seems to be gaining traction.

Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree will be released on June 21.