Elden Ring Could Be Getting A Ray Tracing Update Real Soon

The dataminer SekiroDubi revealed on Twitter how new movements were logged on the Elden Ring SteamDB page, leading him to assume that the ray tracing update was in the pipeline.

This has been brought to my attention from Elden Ring's steamdb… while I don't know what it means, I can just say this smells like the famed Ray Tracing patch. Tomorrow? pic.twitter.com/zz6IAUNN6Z

— Sekiro Dubi (Elden Ring Expansion at home) (@sekirodubi) March 1, 2023

Since the announcement of Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree, the first expansion of FromSoftware’s action RPG, dataminers have been diligently monitoring all of their games’ movements and looking for future updates.

Right after the launch, it was announced by FromSoftware that Elden Ring will eventually get a ray tracing update but no indication of when it will be released was given.

Tucked away in the first batch of Elden Ring patch notes, the publisher revealed that ray tracing, which is quickly becoming standard for new-gen games, is on its way to FromSoftware’s latest release.

The timing of the implementation of ray tracing, which is planned to be supported after the launch, will be announced in future announcements,” reads a line from the patch notes.

But over a year later we might finally be on the verge of a turning point as the dataminer has spotted several indications that might lead to the patch involving ray tracing ability. 

Cook if you gotta cook, but the smell is killing me pic.twitter.com/HGGbdCMG35

— Sekiro Dubi (Elden Ring Expansion at home) (@sekirodubi) March 1, 2023

These are not the only piece of hints we’ve got for the ray tracing in Elden Ring as there have been plenty of information leaks in the past. While the game’s 1.07 patch was originally meant to separate PvP and PvE balance changes, other gems were found as well. The following information was revealed by Lance Mcdonald on Twitter.

The latest update for Elden Ring adds menu strings related to ray tracing features. pic.twitter.com/LrCaqkzfsV

— Lance McDonald (@manfightdragon) October 13, 2022

Lance, who also noted that “the update also includes references to two new maps that do not yet otherwise exist in the game data,” shared a screenshot yesterday of extracted menu text, which appears to be related to ray tracing features.

Enabling ray tracing will lock performance settings to prioritize quality,” one line reads. “The ray tracing setting will only be applied after returning to the title menu.”

Even without ray tracing, FromSoftware’s latest release is a wonderful game. Elden Ring’s universe is “suitably stunning,” with obvious and distinct aesthetic motifs running across different sections.

Nonetheless, the inclusion of ray tracing should make reflections off poisonous marshes, venomous smoke spewed from Patches the Untethered’s mouth, and sun rays peeping down from dark clouds much more realistic.