FromSoftware’s RPGs have been increasingly popular, going all the way back toDemon’s Souls' original launch on the PlayStation 3. Now FromSoftware has released a major trilogy ofDark Soulsthat have become a subgenre of their own, multiple side projects likeSekiroandBloodborne, and even had a third-party remake ofDemon’s Souls.Elden Ring, however, has reached a level of success unlike any FromSoftware game before it. It’s even reached a point where fans are stumbling uponElden Ringstatues.
It’s not so odd for malls or video game stores to put up promotional stands for upcoming or popular games. Statues, however, are a rarity. But that just goes to show how popularElden Ringhas become. A fan ofElden Ringfrom South Korea says that they visited a mall recently, only to discover a life-sizedMaleniastatue placed outside a gaming shop.
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The Malenia statue is as anyElden Ringplayer would expect. She’s tall, intimidating, has a prosthetic arm and legs, as well as her thin sword coming out of her prosthetic – a sword certain to illicit flashbacks to many in-game deaths. There’s even a skull embedded in the statue’s base, just to remindElden Ringplayerswhat she’s all about. The entire statue has an impressive level of detail, showing that Bandai Namco has clearly taken the promotion of the RPG very seriously.
If any game deserves that level of promotion,Elden Ringis it, of course. The last time Bandai Namco shared sales information regardingElden Ring, fans learned that it had reached a staggering 12 million copies sold over 17 days. It’s been a month since, so its sales numbers have certainly reached even higher totals. For comparison, FromSoftware’s previous top-selling game,Dark Souls 3, was confirmed to have sold 10 million copies in its lifetime.
There’s no threshold of game sales for when a publisher will start promoting a game with statues, of course. But video game fans can likely count on their fingers how many other games they’ve seen get the privilege.Halo,Assassin’s Creed,Mario, andLeague of Legendsget life-size statues. And nowElden Ringdoes, too.
Obviously, a statue in a mall isn’t a real measurement of success by any means. It is very cool, though. Malenia is astandout character forElden Ringand it’s wild to see her used in real life as a figure for advertising, a focus even outside of the game’s audience. Here’s hoping she doesn’t get knocked over and broken.
Elden Ringis available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
