Elden Ring fans are debating the meaning of a few curiously locked parts of The Lands Between, with many concluding that they’ll be used for PvP or Boss Rush DLC additions (although the latter seems much less likely).
Warning: This article contains small spoilers for Elden Ring locations.
It’s very possible that you’ll have stumbled across one or more of the Colosseums in The Lands Between, and subsequently been a bit confused about why you can’t get inside.
The game’s opening area, Limgrave, includes a Colosseum, guarded by an NPC invader you have to defeat in order to claim two of the game’s multiplayer items. However, the Colosseum itself remains closed, with a ghostly figure sat outside wondering why they can’t get in.
FromSoft dataminer Lance McDonald has now released a video showing what’s inside that Colosseum, which is a fully realised area, complete with an arena, stands for spectators, and elevators. There are Colosseums found in multiple parts of the map, too.
While some see this as simple cut content, many (including McDonald) have speculated that the areas will be used for future DLC. Many see this as a natural way of adding a full PvP mode to the game. While PvP invasions are a working part of the game, there’s currently no dedicated area for players to test their mettle against one another, as in other Souls games.
Others have speculated that the areas could be used for a Boss Rush mode, allowing you to replay fights against Elden Ring’s many, many bosses. However, this seems far less likely, given that producer Yasuhiro Kitao previously told GamerBraves that the team isn’t currently planning to add such a feature.
You can expect any possible expansion DLC to be months away at least, but given how huge Elden Ring is, you’ll probably have enough to keep you occupied for some time.
We’ve got tons of How-To guides for the game on our Elden Ring Wiki. If you need convincing to pick it up, check out our full 10/10 review.
Joe Skrebels is IGN’s Executive Editor of News. Follow him on Twitter. Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.