SUMMARY
- Elden Ring DLC Shadow of the Erdtree is eagerly being waited for by the fans.
- However, recent reports suggest that Bandai Namco is losing IP rights to Elden Ring.
FromSoftware produced the 2022 hit game Elden Ring, while Bandai Namco published the game. Both these studios’ partnership goes a long way back. They have been the brains behind bringing some of the hit games like Bloodborne, Demon Souls, and the Dark Souls series.
The Elden Ring IP was from the start co-owned by Bandai Namco and FromSoftware respectively. The Elden Ring franchise by far proved to be Bandai Namco’s most successful investment.
However, according to new reports, it seems that things might have changed on the part of Bandai Namco. These reports claims that there has been a transfer of the Elden Ring IP recently.
Bandai Namco reportedly loses the Elden Ring IP rights
According to a recent report, developer FromSoftware, which had previously shared control of the IP for its open-world masterpiece game Elden Ring with publisher Bandai Namco, now entirely owns it.
It now appears according to the report that the modifications to the trademark records were made on April 24 of last year. This information came to light now because the “change of ownership” was only recently shown on US and UK government websites.
The report came out after a recent update to the Elden Ring trademark started circulating on Reddit. According to this, the changes will take effect from April 24.
BAMCO is no longer the IP holder of Elden Ring
byu/Which_Peanut_1809 inGamingLeaksAndRumours
FromSoftware getting the IP rights all to itself from Bandai Namco might have something to do with the new investments the former has managed to secure recently. The fact that Sony and Tencent invested capital and acquired a 30% stake in FromSoftware probably contributed to this development.
FromSoftware has not till now released an official statement regarding the implications of this significant change in the game’s IP ownership for the future. This legal transition has no immediate effect because Bandai Namco is still actively involved in publishing. This is because the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC was mentioned in its most recent earnings report.
Reason for the Elden Ring DLC delay
The game’s popularity can be seen by the fact that even after two years of release, the game’s fan base has not grown weary of Elden Ring and is constantly searching for new methods to keep it interesting, such as modding it. It is therefore obvious that the developer is working on the next DLC expansion.
However, even after being announced, the DLC has faced several delays. This has made the dedicated fans of the game wait anxiously for the release of the new Elden Ring DLC.
However, after the news of the transfer of IP ownership came forward, there were rumors that the delay might have something to do with it. Elden Ring’s DLC might have been perpetually postponed because the team at FromSoftware was preoccupied with obtaining the complete rights to the game.
If this turns out to be true, this is a piece of good news to the fans. As the transaction has now been completed the DLC expansion may soon see the light of day.