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The sequence the official texts establish
Bandai Namco’s official history of the Age of Gods, published on its European site and paired with trailer narration, gives the chain of events in this order:
- The theft and the deaths. The history places the theft of the Rune of Death and the deaths of demigods, beginning with Godwyn, before the Shattering. It calls his loss the most devastating blow to the Eternal Queen. (Bandai Namco Europe, Age of Gods history)
- Marika’s breaking point. The narration says “Queen Marika was driven to the brink,” and then states that the Shattering ensued. The narration says the Ring was “somehow” shattered, which is why it asks who broke it and why.
- The succession war. A newer Bandai Namco Europe explainer is more direct: after Godwyn’s assassination, Queen Marika shattered the Elden Ring, the source of her power. Her remaining children claimed the pieces and fought to succeed her. (Bandai Namco Europe, “What Is Elden Ring About?”)
- The stalemate. The same explainer says the war stalled and the Golden Order was sundered. The official ELDEN RING game page adds that the demigods claimed the Great Runes, and that their “mad taint” triggered the Shattering war and the abandonment by the Greater Will. (Bandai Namco Entertainment, ELDEN RING)
Two points follow from this. First, the sequence is consistent across the publisher’s texts: Godwyn’s death and the theft come first, and the Shattering follows. Second, the texts differ in directness. The older history treats the breaking of the Ring as an event that happened, while the newer explainer names Marika as the one who did it. Neither text explains what she intended.
Why the game leaves the motive open
The lack of a stated motive is not an accident of summary. Hidetaka Miyazaki, FromSoftware’s director, has described Elden Ring’s storytelling as indirect, with clues spread through dialogue, scenery and item descriptions. In a June 2024 interview with Le Monde, he said:
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- ELDEN RING Tarnished Edition contains the Elden Ring Base Game + Shadow of the Erdtree Expansion + Additional Content (including Torrent Skins, New Armors, and More...)
- MASSIVE OPEN WORLD
- DEEP, CUSTOMIZABLE COMBAT
- NEW STARTING CLASSES
- NEW PLAYER-FRIENDLY ENHANCEMENTS
“Mon intention, en fait, c’est que les gens s’approprient le jeu et leur expérience. Avec cette narration indirecte, les gens découvrent et interprètent l’histoire du monde à leur manière.”
In translation: “My intention, in fact, is for people to make the game and their experience their own. With this indirect storytelling, people discover and interpret the world’s history in their own way.” (Le Monde, 21 June 2024)
Quick Recap
Rank #4
![Elden Ring - Standard Edition [PlayStation 5] (German Version)](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51ye3mnByQL._SL160_.jpg)
- Jetzt ELDEN RING vorbestellen und Zugang zu Folgendem erhalten: Digitales Adventure Guide und Bonusgeste “Der Ring”
- Reisen Sie durch das Zwischenland – eine neue Fantasywelt aus der Feder von Hidetaka Miyazaki, dem Schöpfer der einflussreichen DARK SOULS-Videospielreihe, und George R. R. Martin, dem Autor der Fantasy-Bestsellerreihe „A Song of Ice and Fire“ (Das Lied von Eis und Feuer)
- ELDEN RING lockt mit gigantischen Fantasy-Landschaften und düsteren, komplexen Dungeons, die nahtlos ineinander übergehen
- Ein kostenloses Upgrade auf die PlayStation 5-Version wird für Spieler verfügbar sein, die ELDEN RING für die PlayStation 4 kaufen, und SmartDelivery wird auf der Xbox One und der Xbox Series X|S unterstützt
Rank #3
- A New Fantasy World – Journey through the Lands Between, a new fantasy world created by Hidetaka Miyazaki, creator of the influential Dark Souls video game series, and George R. R. Martin, author of The New York Times best-selling fantasy series, A Song of Ice and Fire. Unravel the mysteries of the Elden Ring’s power. Encounter adversaries with profound backgrounds, characters with their own unique motivations for helping or hindering your progress, and fearsome creatures
- World Exploration in the Lands Between – Elden Ring features vast fantastical landscapes and shadowy, complex dungeons that are connected seamlessly. Traverse the breathtaking world on foot or on horseback, alone or online with other players, and fully immerse yourself in the grassy plains, suffocating swamps, spiraling mountains, foreboding castles and other sites of grandeur on a scale never seen before in a FromSoftware title
- Genre-Defining Gameplay – Create your character in FromSoftware’s refined action-RPG and define your playstyle by experimenting with a wide variety of weapons, magical abilities, and skills found throughout the world. Charge into battle, pick off enemies one-by-one using stealth, or even call upon allies for aid. Many options are at your disposal as you decide how to approach exploration and combat
Rank #2
- ELDEN RING Tarnished Edition
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