No Elden Ring prequel has been announced yet. However, of all FromSoftware’s titles, this is the one that could use a look back. When the game begins, you enter a story in its final act. While you’re the catalyst for the finale, the story of the Golden Order and the Shattering of the Elden Ring occurred generations ago.
An Elden Ring prequel could shed new light on The Lands Between
By the time you arrive in The Lands Between, any semblance of civilization has broken down. The only order left is the corrupted demigods and the remnants of their militaries. However, from the lore, we know that it was once a prosperous nation. We can see hints of how many people used to live there by the size of the capital Leyndell and the collapsed ruins of the Academy Gate Town in Liurnia of the Lakes.
It’s hard to imagine the pre-Shattering Lands Between, which is why an Elden Ring prequel would be amazing. It would also allow us to see the Golden Order at its full strength. We only get a hint that the Greater Will is as oppressive as it is beneficial. We could better understand Marika’s motivation for shattering the Elden Ring.
We already saw a hint of what a prequel might be like in version 1.0 of the game. In this version, capital troops were fighting Crucible and Banished Knights. Some of these were seen worshipping the corpse of Gransax, the colossal dragon whose body can be found in Leyndell. This might have given us a hint at what the Shattering might have looked like in the capital.
Meeting the demigods before their descent into insanity would also give better insight into their tragedies. Perhaps FromSoft will explore these in a future DLC, but a whole game could be crafted around just the lead-up to the Night of the Black Knifes and the immediate aftermath.
Unfortunately, for now, we don’t have any clue about FromSoftware’s plans for Elden Ring. Historically, the studio has released DLC for its games. However, it didn’t create any for Sekiro, so we can’t make the assumption we’ll get to see more. However, given that it’s been the studio’s most successful game ever, we wouldn’t be surprised if a direct prequel or sequel is in the works.
