New Elden Ring clip leaks as parent company hints at release ‘before April 2022’

A new six-second glimpse of From Software’s Elden Ring has leaked online, as the developer’s parent company hints that the game could release during its current fiscal year.

The latest leaked clip, which originates from the 4Chan forum and has been widely posted on social media, shows off-screen gameplay with the same Bandai Namco confidential watermark which was brandished on the Elden Ring footage which leaked in March.

It’s possible that the clip is part of the same leak, which was said to show work-in-progress footage that’s more than a year old, and thus is likely not indicative of an impending reveal.

The highly-anticipated Souls spin-off hasn’t been seen since its announcement at E3 2019. However, in its latest financial results published on Friday, From’s parent company Kadokawa Corporation hinted that it could be released with the next 12 months.

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Kadokawa said it expects to release new games during its current fiscal year, which ends on March 31, 2022. It also confirmed that some of its games had been delayed due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

As VGC first reported in March, we understand that Elden Ring has been delayed several times internally due to disruption caused by the pandemic.

People with knowledge of the game’s development told VGC earlier this year that production had been significantly hampered by remote working restrictions, which have been in place for a year in Japan.

One person close to the game’s development said that, due to the disruption, they believed it was unlikely Elden Ring would make it out this calendar year.

New Elden Ring clip leaks as parent company hints at release ‘before April 2022’
A slide from Kadokawa’s financial results.

Announced at E3 2019, Elden Ring is a fantasy action-RPG described as From Software’s largest game to-date.

The game takes place in a world created in collaboration with A Song of Ice and Fire author George R.R. Martin, who was tasked with creating Elden Ring’s lore, rather than working on its story.

Director Hidetaka Miyazaki has said Elden Ring represents “an evolution” of the Dark Souls series he created. While Dark Souls spiritual successors Bloodborne and Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice brought new ideas to the table, Miyazaki said From Software’s upcoming game goes much further.

In March, GamesBeat reporter Jeff Grubb said he’d heard the title was being planned for an unveiling soon. Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier echoed the comments, claiming there was “strong evidence” the game would be shown “relatively soon”.