Elden Ring is an upcoming action RPG from Dark Souls developers FromSoftware, based on an original story created in collaboration with A Game of Thrones author George R. R. Martin. Announced during E3 in 2019, Elden Ring is set to launch on February 25 of next year for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S. However, even though the full game is still a few months away, a few lucky players were able to participate in a recent Elden Ring network test, showcasing the game's world and gameplay in anticipation of its February release date.
Because of the demo, as well as a few trailers following Elden Ring’s E3 announcement, fans have a basic idea of the story’s premise. Set in a realm called the Lands Between, the game takes place after shards of the Elden Ring, known as the Great Runes, have been scattered across the world following the ring’s destruction. Demigods, who are the children of Queen Marika the Eternal, each hold one shard of the ring, but, unfortunately for the health of the world, those shards are corrupting the demigods, and the player is tasked with finding each shard and restoring the Elden Ring.
Although the game is directed by Hidetaka Miyazaki and written by FromSoftware developers, George R. R. Martin of Game of Thrones fame is also involved in the project, assisting with the game’s worldbuilding. According to an interview with Microsoft in 2019, Miyazaki called himself a “huge fan” of Martin’s work, especially the Song of Fire and Ice series (Game of Thrones) and Tuf Voyaging. His love of Martin’s novels led him to reach out to the famous author, requesting his input on the game’s “mythos.”
Is Elden Ring's Story Based On A George R.R. Martin Novel?
While it might be easy to assume that there is some sort of source material for the game, perhaps from George R. R. Martin’s own novels or catalog of writing, Elden Ring is actually a completely original story created by the Soulsborne team and the Game of Thrones author. From the same 2019 interview with Microsoft following Elden Ring’s announcement, Miyazaki mentioned that he would speak with Martin, offering ideas and themes he had for the game’s world, which Martin would then use to help create the “overarching mythos,” or lore, for Elden Ring. Instead of drawing inspiration from an already existing story, Miyazaki and Martin collaborated with each other, creating their own world.
So far, Elden Ring looks like it will be a unique entry to the Dark Souls developers’ résumé. George R. R. Martin’s assistance with the story will likely be an enormous contributing factor regarding the game’s content, but it’ll also be the first entry in the Souls series to have an open world, making it an upcoming 2022 title to keep in mind after the holidays. As for those wondering if Elden Ring is based on anything - like one of Martin's novels - the answer is no. It will have a completely original story.