Elden Ring's publisher has revealed getting players to beat two difficult bosses in order to access Shadow of the Erdtree was critical to the expansion's marketing.
If you somehow didn't already know by now, you need to beat Mohg, Lord of Blood in Elden Ring and Starscourge Radahn in order to access Elden Ring's new Shadow of the Erdtree DLC. This might be obvious to many, but a recent revelation earlier this month from Bandai Namco revealed at least 77% of Elden Ring players on Xbox hadn't yet beaten both the bosses required for the DLC, and those numbers weren't much better on Steam and PlayStation.
GamesIndustry.biz recently spoke to Bandai Namco Europe's chief marketing and sales officer Anthony Macare, where the executive addressed the fact that only 39% of Elden Ring players on PC had beaten Mohg and Radahn. That's a far cry from the 77% of Xbox players who did not, but it's still a pretty surprising statistic for FromSoftware's huge RPG.
"That statistic... does present a unique challenge," Macare says. "However, with over 25 million units sold, even a fraction of our player base constitutes a substantial audience. Our marketing efforts have been tailored to engage this significant segment effectively," he continues, adding that he believes Shadow of the Erdtree will be a "powerful motivator" for players to beat both bosses required for the DLC.
"The journey to the DLC is as much a part of the adventure as the content itself, and we're excited to see players rise to the challenge," Macare adds. That's a challenge to the 25 million Elden Ring players out there if ever I've heard one - you better get your skates on to access Shadow of the Erdtree.
On the other hand, Elden Ring speedrunners have been proving you can reach the DLC entrance in just 28 minutes, from a fresh save file at that. Thankfully, veterans also came together to help the many players who haven't beaten Mohg triumph.
Check out our guide on how to start the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC in Elden Ring if you want a full walkthrough on where exactly to go once the expansion launches. And our Elden Ring DLC release time post to find out when exactly it launches.
