It’s almost time to venture to The Lands Between and become an Elden Lord. After years of waiting, Elden Ring launches next week, and there’s good news for players eager to jump into this brutally challenging game the second it goes live.
If you’ve digitally pre-ordered Elden Ring on Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S or Xbox One, the game is now available for preload ahead of its release on February 25. Once the game is fully downloaded on your system, it’s just a matter of waiting for it to unlock — easier said than done with a game that looks this good.
The game weighs in at around 50GB on Xbox Series X, while the last-gen version is a little smaller at just 30GB. If you’ve previously maxed out your hard drive space, then now is the time to make some room for this massive open-world RPG.
There is a possibility that an additional download will be required as the initial preload may not include the game’s likely day one patch. Although, this download should be significantly smaller and could be available prior to launch. Either way, preloading Elden Ring will ensure you get playing as fast as possible on launch day.
Elden preloads are currently only available on Xbox consoles, but it’s expected to go live on PS5, PS4 and PC imminently. The exact time the game will unlock hasn’t been confirmed yet, but it’s typically midnight local time on release day. However, some games opt instead for a worldwide unlock time. We expect Elden Ring’s unlock time to be confirmed next week.
Be sure to catch up on with our Elden Ring explainer before you play.
