To its admirers, Elden Ring is a noble battle in which the effort you put into remembering boss patterns, developing your build, and fine-tuning your reactions compensates for your near-constant fatalities in a harsh, merciless environment.
Elden Ring appears to be a chance for Tencent to build another free-to-play game, complete with in-app purchases and booster packs that may have little to do with the nature or setting of the game.
According to Reuters, Tencent, the Chinese company that holds a 16 percent share in Elden Ring and Dark Souls developer FromSoftware, is developing a mobile version of the game. According to three persons familiar with the project who spoke with Reuters, progress has been slow. According to Reuters, it will be free to play, with in-app purchases, and may have a play/pay flow similar to miHoYo’s Genshin Impact.
Tencent is the company behind WeChat, China’s largest technology enterprise and the world’s largest gaming revenue generator. The company previously achieved slow-drip success with mobile game versions of properties such as PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG), League of Legends: Wild Rift, and Call of Duty, but has had significantly less success in recent years.
A game based on the Nier property reportedly froze in December 2023 after failing to find a monetization mechanism to cover development costs, a Square Enix Nier license, and app store fees. Tencent also canceled a mobile Apex Legends title last year.
Despite these obstacles and China’s uncertain approval procedure, Tencent CEO Pony Ma recently stated that the company’s game division is “resting on its laurels” and requires new hits. Tencent subsidiaries are apparently developing mobile versions of Need for Speed and Assassin’s Creed. Ma may be seeking for a boss-run challenge in the form of creating a profitable licensed version of Elden Ring. Fans of the original title, on the other hand, may be able to put their skills to the test by evading any recognition of a completely different edition.
