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Tencent is rumoured to be working on a mobile version of Elden Ring

Tencent is rumoured to be working on a mobile version of Elden Ring
  • Hit game Elden Ring could soon be coming to mobile from Chinese dev Tencent
  • News sources across the board have given the rumours credence
  • The game's PC port was criticised for some performance issues

Could Elden Ring be coming to mobile? Alright now, before you switch websites we should point out that this isn't just something we've plucked out of thin air. Sources, including news agency Reuters, have all reported that people 'familiar with the matter' have said a mobile adaptation of Elden Ring could be in the works at Chinese mobile developer Tencent after the company acquired the rights to license the game in 2022.

Elden Ring is a dungeon-crawling RPG that's a spiritual successor to the Dark Souls series, also developed by Fromsoftware. The game boasts an expansive dark-fantasy world and plot elements penned by Game of Thrones writer George R.R. Martin and received high praise for its gruelling difficulty and challenging battles.

Old Bands

While it's definitely an exciting prospect, mobile gamers should probably temper their expectations. While we'd note it's not impossible - with relatively new games such as Resident Evil 4 Remake and Death Stranding both coming to iPhone - Tencent aren't exactly in the business of small-scale releases. So, unless the developer can figure out how to stuff an expansive game like Elden Ring onto as many mobile devices as possible, this project could already be dead in the water.

What's the issue?

Even in its most ideal form, Elden Ring could require months if not years of optimisation work to function properly on mobile. Indeed, it's practically a running joke nowadays that FromSoft's PC ports have been unimpressive if not outright disastrous, and Elden Ring was no exception. So any mobile port would likely require a complete rework to bypass issues like stuttering, depending on the mobile OS that it's made for.

So, in conclusion, Elden Ring on mobile? Very, very possible, but not likely to be happening anytime soon. We'd probably speculate at least 2025, with perhaps a confirmation in the wake of this story or later on in 2024. It could also be that Tencent decides to instead use the licence for a branded mobile game of some kind, although Elden Ring fans and mobile gamers alike would probably be somewhat underwhelmed by that.

But if you're looking for a dark-fantasy dungeon-crawling experience, why not check out our guides on Buriedbornes 2 for something equally grim and challenging?

Iwan Morris
Iwan Morris
Iwan is a Cardiff-based freelance writer, who joined the Pocket Gamer Biz site fresh-faced from University before moving to the Pocketgamer.com editorial team in November of 2023.