Elden Ring fans are eagerly awaiting the release of the first DLC. The Steam database shows that the release could be imminent.
The rumors and speculations about when we will finally see the first DLC for FromSoftware's Elden Ring continue.
A new update in the Steam database suggests that the DLC could be in its final stages before launch, as several entries in Edlen Ring's DLC section have been updated.
Shadow of the Erdtree Release: Elden Ring DLC Section In Quality Assessment
The SteamDB database is seeing some activity again for Elden Ring, and fans are hoping to glean some clues from it. Previously, a new DLC entry being added to Elden Ring has been spotted on SteamDB, now the site is once again causing excitement in the community.
SteamDB is a platform that tracks changes to game databases and files on the Steam gaming platform. While this news, but it's certainly good news for all Elden Ring fans that this is happening.
The game's entry in SteamDB has seen some activity, with several files changing labels to "dev-debug", "dev-release" or "qa-release".
This seems extremely promising, as "qa" most likely stands for "quality assurance", indicating that Shadow of the Erdtree is being playtested right now. This is very likely one of the final development stages, before the game is ready for release.
Reddit user "Flounder3345" revealed a nice explanation, of what this most-likely means:
It being deployed via a Steam depot means they are probably testing not just the DLC itself, but that it properly distributes via Steam and integrates into the main game as expected.So, basically, they've pushed a big update to their version of the game that they use to make sure it's up to snuff for release. It may not be the final test, but is generally indicative we are moving toward release.
At this point, the DLC is eagerly anticipated for the end of February or the beginning of March, but there is still no official release date yet.