Screw Tencent! News about new Elden Ring content has finally emerged, and it’s REALLY, REALLY bad news as Tencent is making a mobile version of the game…
I really can’t stand these shameless, cowardly hacks masquerading as gaming companies (obviously, that and the rest of this article is in my opinion…you know I’ve got to say this to not get sued by Tencent).
In following up one of the most successful, beloved, and critically acclaimed launches in the history of gaming, Elden Ring’s first bit of DLC/post-release content is sadly coming in the form of a mobile game by Tencent and their greedy minds. And, if you couldn’t tell, I can’t stand Tencent or this news.
Now, I don’t want to get people TOO freaked out about this news as it’s not an official FromSoftware or Bandai Namco product. Or at least in my eyes it isn’t.
But, before I get into why I think that, let me just recap for those who haven’t heard the news: Elden Ring is getting turned into a mobile game…by Tencent. Yes, the very same Tencent that has not only played a massive part in turning the gaming market into a loot box-filled, microtransaction hunt of consumers by these predator companies, but it has also single-handedly destroyed huge gaming franchises like League of Legends and PUBG through microtransactions.
And now they’re making a mobile game version of Elden Ring.
Why? Well, it’s due to the fact that Tencent has bought both the licensing rights to mobile games for Elden Ring from FromSoftware back in 2022, while it also has a 16% ownership stake in the entirety of Kadokawa Corp. (which is the parent company of FromSoftware). Yeah, not great news.
Sure, I know this seems like a great idea for those who may not know much about Tencent, or the mobile game genre given this new game’s leaked “free-to-play” title, but that moniker couldn’t be further from the truth. Tencent will fill this new version of Elden Ring with so many necessary microtransactions and loot boxes just to play the game properly (aka: be able to progress, level up, and receive rewards for progress that doesn’t take an entire lifetime) that this title will most likely cost someone anywhere from $300-$1,000 to ACTUALLY play.
Still, I’m not TOO worried about this news as Kadokawa Corp. still has a majority ownership of its company (app. 67%), while Bandai Namco still has the rights to publish the game to the broader world and Hidetaka Miyazaki is still the creative lead on all FromSoftware games. Or, in other words, FromSoftware games are not going to change in the slightest with this development as only their “mobile versions” will be impacted.
Yet, that’s the catch. Is there actually a crossover between avid mobile and free-to-play games and FromSoftware titles? I’d say almost 100% no!
I’m predicting this mobile game title will flop HARD in Tencent’s face for the playerbase of Elden Ring and all the previous FromSoftware titles, such as Dark Souls, Bloodbourne, Demon Souls, Sekhiro, etc., really doesn’t crossover with free-to-play games. Obviously, I’m not saying there isn’t a single Elden Ring player who also enjoys free-to-play games, but the nature and gameplay of the two genres is just so widley apart that it would be like comparing fans of the Beattles with a Tik-Tok singer.
It’s just not a match, and that’s why I think this is a doomed endeavor on Tencent’s part; and it seems as though they know that too for “progress has been slow” on the game since the licensing purchase.
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