Elden Ring may have included a bestiary at some point

The content in Elden Ring is overwhelming at times. From the numerous dungeons to dozens of enemies and bosses, there’s almost too much for players to see in one playthrough. However, according to some leaked game files, there might have been even more content in the game at one point. These files indicate that Elden Ring may have contained an in-game bestiary in a pre-launch build of the game.

A bestiary, for those unaware, is essentially a journal that that players use to keep track of all fauna they see. This could be anything from plants to animals to different enemies. A bestiary often comes with pictures of the fauna along with a brief description and history. The leaked files show that there are dozens of icons for different opponents, ranging from creatures like a hare to enemies such as Godrick Soliders.

So there are 64 unique icons. Ranging from regular soldiers, nobels, to animals, demi-humans, even Godskins and a few I don't even recognize, but I don't see any major bosses in here.

My favorites so far what I would assume are "Caelid Dog", "Caelid Crow" and the "Pigeon". pic.twitter.com/1kPKKCxMaN

— JesterPatches (@JesterPatches) March 27, 2022

Of course, this bestiary never made it into the full version of Elden Ring. It’s not explained why but this is likely a case of cut content. Developers often have to make cuts to certain parts of the game in order for it to release on time and/or be stable when it does launch.

In the case of the bestiary, this certainly would have helped players keep track of everything they see in the Lands Between. There are numerous enemies, plants and other items that a bestiary could have tracked. What’s interesting, though, is that the leaked files show some unknown icons, meaning additional fauna was likely planned but didn’t make it into the full build of the game. This could be another case of cut content. One aspect of Elden Ring that does not appear in the leaked bestiary icons is bosses.

It’s unclear if the bestiary was cut for good or if it could potentially be a piece of post-launch DLC. Developer FromSoftware has not yet announced any concrete plans for Elden Ring DLC, aside from that fans can expect a flurry of content in the months to come.