Witcher 3 Dev Congratulates FromSoftware After Elden Ring DLC Shadow of the Erdtree Overtakes Blood and Wine as Best-Reviewed Expansion Ever

The developer of Witcher 3 has congratulated the developer of Elden Ring after the Shadow of the Erdtree expansion overtook Blood and Wine to become the best-reviewed expansion ever.

At the time of this article’s publication, Shadow of the Erdtree has a Metascore of 95, whereas Witcher 3 expansion Blood and Wine currently sits on a Metascore of 92.

IGN’s Shadow of the Erdtree review returned a 10/10. We said: “Like the base game did before it, Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree raises the bar for single-player DLC expansions. It takes everything that made the base game such a landmark RPG, condenses it into a relatively compact 20-25 hour campaign, and provides fantastic new challenges for heavily invested fans to chew on.”

Blood and Wine, which came out in 2016, got a 9/10. We said: “Geralt gets a fitting sendoff in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - Blood and Wine, courtesy of a strong cast and new items.”

In a tweet, CD Projekt congratulated Elden Ring developer FromSoftware for the release of Shadow of the Erdtree, and even pointed to its own staff preparing for its release today, June 21.

“For the last eight years, The Witcher 3: Blood and Wine had the honor of being the best reviewed expansion for a role-playing game,” CD Projekt said, “but @ELDENRING gets to wear that crown now. Congratulations to the entire team at @fromsoftware_pr on their stellar work!”

Here's a live view of REDs this week trying to prepare for Shadow of the Erdtree. pic.twitter.com/Ixb3rxrpyZ— The Witcher (@witchergame) June 21, 2024

The tweet about CD Projekt staff preparing for the release of Shadow of the Erdtree is of course in relation to the requirements that must be met in order to access the expansion within the base game — players must tick off a handful of obscure feats beforehand, including beating an optional boss.

IGN's guide on how to prepare for the Shadow of Erdtree is fully up to date with everything you need, however, and make sure to check out our Elden Ring interactive map to ensure you're not missing any important collectibles.

As for The Witcher 3, CD Projekt is working on another game set within the fantasy universe, codenamed Polaris, but it won't arrive until 2025 at the absolute earliest, and probably later. There are two other Witcher games on the horizon too, including a remake of the original Witcher and a multiplayer spin-off.

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at [email protected] or confidentially at [email protected].