Elden Ring manga goes on a brief hiatus after its author decides that he would rather be playing Shadow of the Erdtree

Elden Ring's own manga author is taking some time off to play Shadow of the Erdtree - and honestly, good for him.

Nikiichi Tobita, author of Elden Ring: The Road to the Erdtree has announced that he's taking some time away from the manga to play the upcoming Elden Ring DLC: Shadow of the Erdtree. New issues of Road to the Erdtree are published every 19th day of the month, but July's update will be skipped entirely as a result.

The image on the right in the tweet shows a person, who may or may not be Tobita, sound asleep and dreaming of that weird glowing worm in Shadow of the Erdtree. If Elden Ring has infiltrated the manga author's dreams, it's no wonder the author is taking some time away to play Shadow of the Erdtree when it launches later this week. 

This could mean that Elden Ring's new character for Shadow of the Erdtree, like Messmer the Impaler, might be featured in future issues of Road to the Erdtree. If they are, don't expect them to pop up immediately - that would only happen if Tobita is about to pull some Eiichiro Oda-style work hours and write for roughly 21 hours a day.

Dark Souls is getting a manga spin-off later this year in August, but it looks to be fraught with horror and monsters, unlike Elden Ring's very silly manga. Road to the Erdtree is rife with slapstick comedy, to the point where a lot of people were puzzled by it at first. Since launch in 2022 though, it's won over fans far and wide, to the point that it's fairly adored in Japan.

For more on what to expect from the expansion when it launches later this week on June 21, you can read our full Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree review to see why we awarded the new expansion with full marks. 

Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree is the highest-rated release of 2024 so far, beating JRPG hit Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth and roguelike darling Hades 2.