Image: FromSoftware
Tencent wants Elden Ring to be a free-to-play mobile game with in-app purchases.
FromSoftware’s critically acclaimed action-RPG Elden Ring is reportedly coming to mobile devices, though that might not happen for quite some time. According to Reuters, tech conglomerate Tencent is working on bringing Elden Ring to mobile platforms, “as it searches for a new hit to refresh its ageing stock of games.”
However, Reuters also reports that progress on the mobile version has been, “slow,” with a team of a few dozen people working on a prototype. The outlet reports that Tencent wants Elden Ring to be a free-to-play game with in-app purchases similar to Genshin Impact. While that doesn’t guarantee a five-star Malenia pull in your future, it does suggest that Tencent wants to add microtransactions to the game at a minimum.
Tencent has an Elden Ring mobile game in development
When Elden Ring comes to mobile devices, it’s likely to come with some major gameplay changes. Reuters reports that Tencent has had a mobile version of the open-world game in development ever since it snagged licensing rights from FromSoftware in 2022, with a team of a few dozen people assigned to work on a prototype. The conglomerate put this into motion in the same year it bought a 16% minority stake in FromSoftware, but progress has been slow in the years since.
According to the outlet, Tencent is searching for a new major hit to revitalise its ageing library of mobile games. To accomplish this, it wants to make Elden Ring a free-to-play game with in-app purchases much like the highly-successful Genshin Impact. However, FromSoftware designed Elden Ring to be sold at a set price with no microtransactions - which reportedly puts it at odds with Tencent’s planned model.
Elden Ring’s mobile version might not even make it to market. The outlet also reports that Tencent encountered issues adapting another major game franchise for mobile devices recently: Nier. A project based on Nier was cancelled in December over monetisation concerns. Another Nier mobile game called Nier Reincarnation also ceased development in January this year, though it doesn’t have any apparent ties to Tencent.
Whether the mobile version arrives or not, Elden Ring fans still have one major title to look forward to: the upcoming Shadow of the Erdtree expansion.
