FromSoftware has just launched the Shadow of the Erdtree expansion for Elden Ring. Given the original game’s huge commercial success and popularity, the DLC caused a surge in player count on Steam.
Launched on June 21, Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree quickly became one of the most played on Steam in the last 24 hours. According to SteamDB, the base game peaked at 589,948 concurrent players, which is still below its all-time high of 953k CCU, but still quite impressive.
As you can see from the graph below, players started flocking to Elden Ring even before the expansion’s launch. Its peak CCU count increased by over 200% (3x!) over the past several days — from 194.5k CCU on June 19 to 589.9k tonight.
The number is likely to rise even further over the weekend, when more people are able to play the game.
At the time of writing, has a “Very Positive” rating on Steam, with 89% of the 4,263 user reviews being positive. It is now the highest-rated DLC for any FromSoftware game on the platform:
- DS2: Crown of the Old Iron King — 87% (169 reviews);
- DS3: The Ringed City — 83% (2,926 reviews);
- DS2: Crown of the Ivory King — 81% (162 reviews);
- DS2: Crown of the Sunken King — 80% (118 reviews);
- DS3: Ashes of Ariandel — 59% (3,690 reviews).
Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree also received universal acclaim from critics, with an average Metascore ranging from 93 (PC) to 95 (PlayStation 5). It also became the highest-rated DLC/expansion on the platform, dethroning The Witcher 3: Blood and Wine (92):
- Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree — 95
- The Witcher 3: Blood and Wine — 92
- World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King — 91
- World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade — 91
- World of Warcraft: Cataclysm — 90
- The Witcher 3: Hearts of Stone — 89
- Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty — 89
- Destiny 2: The Final Shape — 89
- Cuphead in the Delicious Last Course — 89
- Dark Souls: Artorias of the Abyss — 89