A recent interview with FromSoftware producer Yasuhiro Kitao has revealed that Elden Ring is in the “final stages of development” ahead of a planned release date in January 2022.
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Speaking to Famitsu – with a translation spotted by PCGamesN – Kitao had plenty to share on the current state of Elden Ring.
Discussing the progress made behind the scenes, Kitao said Elden Ring is “in the final stages of development”, and FromSoftware is “moving forward quietly” with the game.
Kitao also thanked fans for waiting over two years without any new information, claiming the team will “continue to develop the game to meet your expectations”. Outside of development, Kitao shared more on the gameplay – and difficulty – of Elden Ring.
As mentioned in an earlier interview, Elden Ring seems to have more options for players to tackle difficult situations. After FromSoftware president and Elden Ring game director Hidetaka Miyazaki stated that Elden Ring will have a more “manageable” difficulty earlier in the year, Kitao has said that the game will still “be very difficult”.
“We want players to feel a sense of accomplishment, and one of the ways to achieve this is to set a high difficulty level.”
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Despite this, Kitao reaffirms that players will have more ways to approach challenges. This includes assassinations and stealth featured in Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, though Kitao adds that “when there are a lot of enemies, you can summon a spirit to fight with you as your companion”.
At the time of writing, the game still has three months to go until it releases, as it’s scheduled to launch on January 21, 2022. Elden Ring will launch on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S and PC.
In other news, New World has hit the top of Steam’s concurrent player chart, briefly overtaking Valve’s own Counter-Strike: Global Offensive.