Elden Ring fans are still keeping their fingers crossed for a major announcement regarding the franchise's future. While it's exciting that the A24 film from Alex Garland is on the horizon, Tarnished are still unsure about whether there will be an actual Elden Ring 2 at any point in the future.
Fortunately, thanks to the Tarnished Edition on Nintendo Switch 2 and its accompanying DLC, gamers have every reason to dive back into the Lands Between for another play-through. The Tarnished Edition officially launched on August 28, marking the franchise's long-awaited debut on a Nintendo console. Along with the base game, the release included 2024's massively successful Shadow of the Erdtree expansion, giving newcomers the opportunity to experience the complete adventure in one package.
Now, to close out the year in grand fashion, Elden Ring is returning on December 1 with the official launch of Path of Shadows, taking players back to the Shadow Realm and the dreaded Abyssal Woods for a final tumultuous journey.
Bandai Namco is closing out 2026 with Path of Shadows, the fourth and final installment in its ongoing Elden Ring Community Quests initiative. Running from December 1 through December 28, the event challenges players to return to Shadow of the Erdtree and work together toward several ambitious goals, including revisiting some of the expansion's most memorable locations.
Unlike a traditional DLC questline, Path of Shadows is a community-wide event, meaning individual players contribute toward shared objectives rather than completing every challenge themselves. Bandai Namco has outlined five specific goals for the December event:
Fortunately, participation is straightforward. Players simply need to play Elden Ring on their preferred platform during the event, with progress updates and reminders available through the game's official Discord server.
As for rewards, Bandai Namco has confirmed exclusive commemorative artwork by Crisppyboat, alongside a special St. Trina Twitch chat badge designed by Carsondrewit. For anyone unfamiliar, Twitch badges are small icons displayed beside usernames in livestream chats, allowing viewers to showcase achievements, affiliations, and other distinctions.
Path of Shadows follows three earlier community quests, each celebrating a different aspect of FromSoftware's acclaimed RPG. The first, Path of the Tarnished, ran from September 1–28, challenging players to summon Sorcerer Rogier and collect various items. Rewards included artwork by Shimhaq and a Sorcerer Rogier Twitch badge.
October's Path of the Cardinal Sin resulted in commemorative artwork by Dan Mumford and a Festering Bloody Finger badge, while November's Path of the Elden Lord, running November 2–28, will feature artwork by Louis Gibiard and a Warrior Jar Alexander badge. All three badges were designed by Carsondrewit.
Bandai Namco is also hosting a separate Discord emote contest, giving artistic fans another opportunity to participate in the celebrations. With Path of Shadows bringing the festivities to a close, there's no better excuse for Tarnished to revisit the Shadow Realm in Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree before the year is out.
