Elden Ring has taken the world by storm, so it wouldn’t be a huge surprise that a DLC – named Barbarians of the Badlands – is currently in the works.
This week, a group going by the name of ALPHV apparently launched a ransomware attack against Bandai Namco Entertainment, the company behind the Dark Souls game series and Elden Ring. They are also known as BlackCat, and they are well-known for hacking into the networks of well-known software developers and publishing companies, encrypting their information, and then demanding a ransom.
It’s conceivable that these hackers now have access to a tonne of important data because Bandai Namco has neither recognised nor denied these charges. It much resembles what transpired with Capcom a few years ago, which caused games like Dragon’s Dogma 2 to be leaked online much before their official release. These leaks allegedly contain the title of an upcoming DLC for Elden Ring, Barbarians of the Badlands.
It should be emphasised that the information from the Capcom breach did not appear online for several days, but it now appears that Bandai Namco’s fiscal year 2023 plans have been made public ahead of schedule. If Bandai and ALPHV cannot reach an agreement, it is likely that more information will leak. Alternatively, it’s possible that the information below is entirely false and was leaked by someone who took advantage of the potential hack to release some fictitious games, including the potential Elden Ring DLC – Barbarians of the Badlands.
It’s difficult to determine for sure how much of this list is accurate, but it could become obvious in the days to come. In terms of FromSoftware’s DLC strategy, an Elden Ring DLC in Q3 FY2023 is on the lengthy end, but it makes sense considering the scope of the new product. It would also appear to be related to the Badlands that Godfrey and the Tarnished saw after being driven out of the Lands Between, and it may delve into the pasts of both him and Nepheli, events taking place beyond the Lands Between, and much more. Or perhaps these barbarians travel to the Lands Between in search of retribution when Godfrey is defeated. Many possibilities exist, but only time will tell.
People naturally want this Barbarians of the Badlands leak to be true since the Elden Ring DLC has been long discussed and conjectured upon online as players combed the map in search of clues as to where that DLC may lead them. Since some of the most popular theories have focused on a closed-off coliseum said to be set aside for a DLC arena, this leak honestly appears to have been designed to capitalise on those expectations. According to the game’s backstory, that coliseum is home to the enormous, naked “Duelist” antagonists that charge at players with enormous axes. If not them, this DLC title may possibly be alluding to Caelid, the game’s crimson, desolate region that, to those who are unfamiliar with it, appears to be comparable to the “badlands.”
Even if some of the things on this list appear implausible overall, nothing is essentially impossible. For instance, the creation of the game Armored Core, which is said to be created by FromSoftware, is nearing completion. A Q1 FY2023 release, albeit not impossibly early, might seem a little weird. Although they have not yet been verified, Tales of Ascension and Code Vein 2, as well as Dragon Ball Xenoverse 3, have been referenced in prior rumours and leaks.