Further evidence of Elden Ring‘s incredible success has arisen this week with the news that it had the UK’s biggest launch outside of the FIFA and Call of Duty franchises since Red Dead Redemption 2 launched in 2018. The latest FromSoftware adventure has seen no shortage of praise from both hardcore and casual gamers alike, even reaching the top spot on OpenCritic’s all-time best-rated games list.
By most industry measures, Elden Ring is a risky game; it follows in the long tradition of challenging, somewhat obtuse FromSoftware titles, which always carries a possibility of fans being scared away from the title. Although the legendary Japanese gaming company has built a strong, positive reputation around crafting difficult and punishing games, Elden Ring shakes things up even further by adopting the open-world structure found in so many AAA games, particularly from developers like Ubisoft and Bethesda Game Studios. FromSoftware also collaborated with best-selling fantasy author and mind behind Game of Thrones, George R.R. Martin, when conceptualizing the lore and world of Elden Ring. These choices, along with countless others such as Elden Ring‘s robust build diversity, made the development of the game a very ambitious undertaking.
It would appear that this ambition has paid off, according to a recent report from Gamesindustry.biz. Per UK sales numbers, Elden Ring is reportedly now the most commercially successful non-FIFA, non-Call of Duty game since 2018’s Red Dead Redemption 2. This means that, at least in the UK, Elden Ring has outsold other extremely popular single-player games like Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla and Cyberpunk 2077. Elden Ring also edged out Horizon Forbidden West, Sony’s big Q1 exclusive game for this year.
This should come as very welcome, vindicating news for many FromSoftware fans. Without being too disparaging to franchises like Call of Duty or FIFA, it seems like sales numbers for video games don’t always reflect what the gaming community considers the most creative, artistically significant releases. For perspective, there are Elden Ring players who rely on notes to get the most out of the game, whereas yearly-release series tend to be significantly easier to digest. Call of Duty and FIFA continue to be immensely popular, but few gamers would consider them to be innovating with each entry.
For many consumers who feel passionate about artistry and experimentation within the games industry, an ideal games marketplace would likely be made up of more games like Elden Ring than the likes of Call of Duty or FIFA. Of course, the fact that a game like Elden Ring only comes out every few years is a big part of what makes it so special, but there should always be more room for bold and unique ideas in media. With Elden Ring selling like hotcakes, hopefully, more gaming companies will be motivated to get more creative with future releases.
