Geoff's Desert Demon: Everyone's Guessing, But Lords of the Fallen Devs Are Just 'Praying It's FromSoftware'

AI Gaming News Author · Eurogamer ·

Geoff's Desert Demon: Everyone's Guessing, But Lords of the Fallen Devs Are Just 'Praying It's FromSoftware'

Geoff Keighley's mysterious desert statue has the gaming world buzzing, with initial guesses from *Diablo 4* to *Doom*. While *Lords of the Fallen* studio CI Games isn't behind it, their CEO Marek Tyminski publicly stated their devs are 'praying' it's a FromSoftware announcement, a move Jeff observes as both genuine respect and clever industry positioning amidst hints of big news for their own franchise.

Right then, gather 'round, mates. We've got ourselves a proper mystery brewing, a digital equivalent of finding a cryptic runeset in an ancient dungeon. You know the one I'm talking about, don't you? That frankly quite bonkers, demonic statue Geoff Keighley dropped in the Mojave desert like it was just another Tuesday – all ahead of The Game Awards this week.

Bloody hell, what a stunt. Geoff kicked off the month with a tease about something 'regal.inspiring.thickness,' and frankly, that's almost as baffling as the statue itself. Those glowing red eyes and skeletal figures immediately sent the internet into a frenzy. Early guesses were flying faster than a rogue fireball – *Diablo 4*? *God of War*? Nah, apparently not, those were ruled out quicker than I can miscast a teleport spell. Then came whispers of Sony's *Saros*, or even the grandaddy of doom, *Doom* itself.

And of course, in true gaming fashion, everyone's jumped on the bandwagon. Devolver Digital, bless their chaotic hearts, quipped that they'd 'made it out of the bones of most of our interns.' Gotta appreciate that level of self-awareness, eh?

But here's where it gets really interesting, like finding a hidden lore tablet that changes everything. The Game Awards official account chimed in with a new riddle: 'The [blank] are silent. [Blank] bleeds. New [blank] stir.' Now, if that doesn't sound like classic FromSoftware cryptic-ness, I don't know what does. It's got that melancholic, slightly disturbing vibe that suggests something grand and brutal is on the horizon. My mind immediately went to 'The Tarnished are silent. The Erdtree bleeds. New Lords stir.' or something similar. But what if it's not *Elden Ring*? That's the beauty of these pre-announcement puzzles, isn't it?

Enter Marek Tyminski, the founder and CEO of CI Games, the folks behind *Lords of the Fallen*. Now, you might think, 'Ah, so it's their new *Soulslike*, *Lords of the Fallen 2*!' And honestly, for a hot minute, plenty of us did. The statue certainly has that grimdark, gothic vibe that screams 'I'm about to make you cry with my boss fights.' But Tyminski quickly put that to bed, saying, and I quote, 'Flattered so many think we're behind that statue. Can confirm it's not us, we're just as hyped as you are. Devs are praying it's something From. Huge respect to them and we dream of reaching that level one day.'

Now, let's unpack that for a sec, shall we? 'Devs are praying it's something From.' That's a fascinating bit of insight, isn't it? It's like seeing behind the wizard's curtain for a moment. It shows genuine reverence for FromSoftware's legendary status, but also, let's be cleverly observant here, it's a *bloody brilliant* bit of PR. By publicly aligning themselves with the gold standard of Soulslikes, even if it's just in hopeful speculation, CI Games gets to bask in a little bit of that FromSoft glow. It's a classic move in the gaming industry – 'we're just like them, only not actually them... yet.'

And let's be fair, *Lords of the Fallen* had a bit of a rough ride back in 2023. While the devs *have* put in work to improve things post-launch – and you've gotta respect that commitment to fixing what was broken – its initial reception wasn't exactly glowing. Eurogamer, for instance, gave it a two-star review, calling it 'an unoriginal imitator' of FromSoftware's *Dark Souls* games. So, seeing the CEO openly 'dreaming of reaching that level one day' isn't just a humble admission; it's also a subtle way of saying, 'we know our past, but we aspire to greatness.'

Tyminski also slipped in a tantalising tidbit: 'Big news coming for both *Lords of the Fallen* and *Lords II*. We've listened. Soon it's time to reveal.' Ah, the classic 'we've listened' line. It’s always a bit of a gamble, isn't it? Sometimes it means genuine, community-driven improvements; other times, it's corporate speak for 'we're about to repackage something and hope you buy it.' But given their public prayer to the FromSoft gods, one can cautiously hope they really *have* listened and are preparing something genuinely compelling for their sequel.

So, could this desert demon actually be a FromSoftware announcement? While *Elden Ring* got its 'Nightreign' DLC, and we've got the 'Tarnished Edition' and 'The Duskbloods' (a Switch 2 exclusive, apparently) on the horizon, this statue feels… different. Bigger. Like a new IP, or a massive expansion that pushes boundaries rather than just adds content. Or perhaps, and this is where my gentle skepticism kicks in, it's all just a colossal, brilliant bit of marketing by Geoff and The Game Awards to get us all talking. And by golly, it's working.

Ultimately, whether it's FromSoftware, a dark horse contender, or just a very elaborate art installation that got out of hand, the mystery has us all hooked. And that's what gaming is all about, isn't it? The shared speculation, the collective hype, the joy of the unexpected. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off to stare at that statue for another hour, trying to decipher if its left horn is subtly wiggling, hinting at a new boss mechanic...

*Original reporting by Ed Nightingale for Eurogamer, December 8, 2025.*

Tags: TheGameAwards, FromSoftware, LordsOfTheFallen, GamingHype, IndustrySpeculation

Original article: Eurogamer