There were many high notes during this Summer Game Fest kickoff, it is safe to assume that the biggest surprise wasElden Ring’sbrand-new trailer; packed with action, compelling characters, and scenery, but that’s not all. The new exciting trailer ends with the words “EldenRing” etched on a dark sky, in gold, with a big symbol behind the writing that simply seems like the official logo for the game. However there’s more to it, as a nearly identical symbol (albeit with some ornamental flair) is shown one more time during the trailer, and it almost goes unnoticed because of how tiny it is.
The aforementioned symbol is shown at 0:35 during the trailer; etched in gold on what looks like a small stone shrine, within the shattered remains of a temple. This could have major implications withinEldenRing’s storyline because of several factors, including the broken, mysterious Golden Order and the titular Elden Ring being shattered. This in particular, seems to be the inciting incident behind the story ofEldenRing, meaning that the Ring’s shattering is what sets events in motion for the Tarnished to claim the power of the Elden Ring itself.
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The Elden Ring and The Golden Order
But what is the Golden Order, and what exactly is the Elden Ring? These remain unanswered questions for the most part, but the new trailer and the description found on the official website at Bandai Namco Entertainment provide some clues to be pieced together. For starters, the logo at the end ofEldenRing’s traileris missing what looks like golden roots (especially considering the relationship between the Elden Ring and the Erdtree) that, instead, are present on the symbol at the shrine.
The symbol is first shown when the narrator says that the Golden Order is broken, and fans know by now that the Order being broken is likely to be tied with the Elden Ring being shattered. This could, in turn, mean that the Golden Order was either protecting the Ring but failed, or that its very existence was compromised whenthe Elden Ring was destroyed, and the Golden Order enduring the same fate. Gold also is set up to be a key component to both the game’s story and the powers of the Elden Ring itself, and this seems even more plausible because of some enemies in the trailer wielding gold weapons or summoning ethereal ones.
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It all comes together considering how the official website mentions Queen Marika the Eternal, whose demigod offspring have claimed theshards of the Elden Ringfor themselves and started a war called The Shattering. The aforementioned enemies shown in the trailer could be Marika’s children, who the players, the Tarnished, must kill to cleanse them and lay claim on the shards, which could make the exiled characters find grace in gold once more. Again, it is very plausible to think that the Golden Order fell because the Elden Ring was destroyed, and now these demigods have plundered the Ring’s shards to obtain the powers of gold.
Of course, considering the game has just been shown for the first time after years, all of this should be taken with a grain of salt. These are plausible speculations on thestory ofElden Ring, but they are speculations nonetheless. However, it’s not going to take too long for players to find that out for themselves when the game launches next January.
Elden Ringwill launch on July 21, 2025, for PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.
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