Microsoft boss teases Elden Ring on Xbox Game Pass
FromSoftware's Elden Ring could be getting a fresh lick of green paint, as the lush greenery of its forests might be replaced by the signature colours of Microsoft. The fantasy epic was released on PlayStation and Xbox back in 2022, with both sides happily sharing the Tarnished. All of that could be about to change.
While FromSoft has a history of flying PlayStation's blue banners with Bloodborne, Demon's Souls, and the first few Armored Core games, it's not afraid to offer a piece to all sides. Rumours that Sony would buy the developer to rival the Activision Blizzard deal never happened, meaning FromSoft is free to do its own thing.
Is Elden Ring coming to Game Pass?
As Elden Ring isn't a first-party exclusive for Microsoft, we never expected it to be a day-one Xbox release like Halo Infinite or Starfield. With Elden Ring's 18-month anniversary looming, it would be the perfect time to reinvigorate its fan base with a Game Pass release.
The Xbox subscription service has proved to be big business for Microsoft, and although there are still questions about its sustainability, there's no denying it's pulling in the punters for the Green Team. The Xbox Series S hasn't earned the nickname of the Game Pass machine for nothing.
Throwing fuel on the eternal fire that Elden Ring will be coming to Game Pass, Xbox Vice President Sarah Bond shared a cryptic tweet featuring some suspicious emojis. With an old man and a wedding ring, Bond also used #Xbox. In case you missed the memo, she then responded to her own tweet with Elden Ring artwork.
Whether this is Bond trolling us or not, it's a little late for April Fool's Day. Others took it one step further, speculating that Microsoft might be making moves to buy FromSoftware. With the ABK deal struggling to make it over the line due to fears of monopolisation, we doubt Phil Spencer is eyeing another big studio.
Haven't we been here before?
Click to enlargeIt's unclear what Bond is referring to, and it could be as simple as an Elden Ring-themed event or some other kind of news. Remember, there's also the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC, which is yet to get a release date.
This isn't the first we've heard about Elden Ring on Game Pass, and with speculation running rife as early as April 2022, we've learned to tread cautiously in this territory. Last August saw Elden Ring listed as part of the Xbox Cloud Gaming service, which turned out to be a bug.
With Elden Ring having sold 20 million copies across all platforms, its potential debut on Game Pass would give Xbox another leg up in its mission to topple PlayStation. If (and it's a big if) Elden Ring does make it to Game Pass, we guess there's only one thing for it - Sony will have to release Bloodborne 2.
