Elden Ring Two Years Later: How FromSoftware Created a New Genre Classic

In February 2022, Elden Ring changed what an open world could be. More than two years later, the game still dominates conversation. We examine why, and what its success means for the genre.

Author: Аналитика MBG •

February 25, 2022. Elden Ring arrives. Metacritic: 96/100 — FromSoftware's first project with that rating. 12 million copies sold in three days. 20 million in the first year. By 2024, after Shadow of the Erdtree, over 28 million. This isn't just a hit — it's a cultural event.

Open World Without Compromise

FromSoftware's main risk was translating the Souls formula into an open world. Miyazaki solved the 'optional difficulty' problem differently: the Lands Between is dense, every corner holds danger or reward, and the openness serves tactical variety rather than obstacle avoidance.

Environmental Storytelling

Elden Ring's story is told through item descriptions, architecture, and NPC behavior — no expository cutscenes. Collaboration with George R.R. Martin gave the lore a depth players are still decoding. r/EldenRingLore has 900,000 subscribers posting daily theories.

Shadow of the Erdtree

The 2024 expansion was its own creative statement. Mesmer the Impaler is one of the best bosses in the series' history. Shadow showed FromSoftware can create emotional narrative arcs within DLC, not just systems.

Legacy

Elden Ring launched a wave of imitators and competitors — every subsequent open-world RPG is measured against it. That's the criterion of influence: when a genre starts measuring itself by your work, you've become a classic.