Elden Ring Celebrates 4th Anniversary

Released on February 25, 2022, Elden Ring achieved massive commercial success, selling 13.4 million copies in its first five weeks. As of April 2025, the game has sold over 30 million units, making it one of the best-selling video games of all time. The game's critical acclaim matched its sales, securing over 300 Game of the Year awards following its launch. At The Game Awards 2022, it won Game of the Year, Best Art Direction, Best Game Direction, and Best RPG. By early 2025, its total GOTY awards had climbed to 435, cementing its place as one of the most decorated games in history. The rich history of the Lands Between was penned by "A Song of Ice and Fire" author George R. R. Martin. Martin was tasked with creating the foundational mythology, detailing the events, characters, and relationships from 5,000 years before the game's story begins, which director Hidetaka Miyazaki's team then used to build the in-game narrative. Its open world, The Lands Between, spans 79 square kilometers (30.5 square miles). This makes the map larger than the worlds of *Grand Theft Auto 5* and *Skyrim*, though smaller than that of *Red Dead Redemption 2*. The game's longevity was bolstered by the highly anticipated "Shadow of the Erdtree" expansion, released in June 2024. The DLC was a commercial success on its own, selling five million copies within its first three days and surpassing ten million units sold by July 2025. The Elden Ring universe has continued to expand with a multiplayer-focused spinoff, *Elden Ring Nightreign*, which launched in May 2025. This cooperative roguelike sold over five million units in its first two months.