The numbers are in, and Shadow of the Erdtree is just as much of a massive success as the original Elden Ring.
The game’s official X page shared that the DLC expansion has already accumulated 5 million downloads in less than one week of release. What makes this number so significant is that it’s one-fifth of the total number of sales for the original Elden Ring, which was at 25 million units sold a week before the DLC was released. It was already one of the best-selling games of all time, and these massive numbers for Shadow of the Erdtree have fully reinforced its significance.
Since the release of Shadow of the Erdtree, hordes of players have dipped their toes into the new Land of Shadow and its challenging boss battles. The difficulty became such a contentious part of the experience that streamers have repeatedly called out the DLC for being too hard to enjoy, and Steam reviews slipped as a result. But those little controversies hardly matter if the majority of critics and fans have raved about the content and can’t wait for more.
As time goes on and fewer people complain about a From Software game being difficult (something that other streamers have already pointed out), the numbers for Elden Ring and Shadow of the Erdtree are likely to rise again, which means that the future of the series is looking bright.