Elden Ring: George RR Martin’s Video Game Explained

George RR Martin – who created the A Song Of Ice And Fire book series, which was adapted into the Game Of Thrones TV series – has helped make a new video game called Elden Ring. He’s worked with Hidetaka Miyazaki, who created the Dark Souls gaming series, to bring this vision to life.

The game was rumored for quite some time before being officially revealed at E3 2019. Bandai Namco is producing the title and FromSoftware, who recently released the devilishly difficult Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, are the developers of Elden Ring. There is quite a powerhouse of talent involved, then, meaning that Martin’s name isn’t the only reason to get excited.

The game is still shrouded in mystery, to an extent, but some nuggets of Elden Ring news are starting to appear. We’re going to round them all up into one handy hub to keep you informed. So, if you’re looking for an explainer about Elden Ring and what it actually is, you’ve come to the right place.

Here’s everything we currently know about Elden Ring, the upcoming George RR Martin game…

Elden Ring trailer: “I Doubt You Could Even Imagine It”

At E3 2019, during the official Xbox presentation, Microsoft shared this first-look trailer for Elden Ring…

The trailer opens with a long-haired character holding up a severed hand, as other arms reach out towards them. “I doubt you could even imagine it,” intones an ominous voiceover, “that which commanded the stars, giving life its fullest brilliance. The Elden Ring. Old Elden Ring, shattered by someone or something. And tell me you don’t see it. Look up at the sky. It burns.”

As the narration becomes harder to decipher, intriguing images flash up on the screen: a severed hand, starting to move; a female warrior, assembling her armor; and a blood-red sky hanging above everything. For now, the meaning of all this imagery is being kept secret.

Elden Ring Gameplay: “It Is a Third-Person Action RPG”

Speaking to Microsoft’s official Xbox Wire website, co-creator Miyazaki confirmed that Elden Ring “is a third-person action RPG. Unlike Sekiro, which has a heavy focus on action, Elden Ring puts more focus on RPG elements. Of course, we are not shying away from the fun of responsive melee-based combat, and these elements will be present as well.” There will also be big boss battles.

Asked if he thinks Elden Ring will be noticeably challenging, in the typical FromSofware style, Miyazaki said this: “Yes, I do. The importance we place on the joy the player experiences through overcoming challenges will be the same as it is in our other titles. I believe it will prove to be a very satisfying experience.”

“Even when compared to the Dark Souls series,” he added, “I believe this title will provide even more variety in the ways for players to overcome challenges and tweak their tactics when facing enemies.” Also, in case you were wondering how big the game is, Elden Ring has been described by publisher Bandai Namco as “FromSoftware’s largest game to-date.”

Read More: Dark Souls Bosses Ranked

Elden Ring Development: It Overlapped With Sekiro

It’s pretty impressive that FromSoftware is gearing up for another release, considering that Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice only hit shop shelves in March 2019. And as Miyazaki explained to Xbox Wire, there was some overlap going on behind the scenes between the two projects.

“The overall process of development has been the same as it was in Sekiro,” Miyazaki explained. “While assigning co-directors to each project, I took direction over the various game design, art and musical aspects of the titles.”

Miyazaki also mentioned that “Development for Elden Ring started just after development for the Dark Souls 3 DLC had ended.” And he said this about the origins of the project: “We wanted to create a new dark fantasy action RPG full of things that we weren’t able to do in the Dark Souls series.”

Elden Ring Title: What Does It Mean?

The title of the game, Elden Ring, will take a bit of getting used to. It immediately draws to mind Elder Scrolls and The Lord Of The Rings, but it’s worth remembering that this game is a brand new property and has no links to previous franchises (that we know of).

And if you’re wondering what Elden Ring means as a title, Miyazaki explained it to Xbox Wire like so: “Elden Ring is the name given to a mysterious concept that defines the world itself. As the trailer at the conference implied, this “Elden Ring” has been shattered. The significance of this will be one of the important themes of the game. That’s about all I can say at this point in time (laughter).”

Elden Ring and George RR Martin: How Much Was He Involved?

Miyazaki also told Xbox Wire how he came to be collaborating with George RR Martin. Miyazaki has been a fan of Martin’s for years, and he used to encourage new starters at his company to check out Martin’s Fevre Dream vampire novel as a piece of required reading. With Miyazaki being such a huge fan of Martin, a FromSoftware executive set a meeting between the pair. This chat, as you might have guessed, went rather well.

“I am still unable to put into words how grateful I am to Mr. Martin for agreeing to our offer,” Miyazaki enthused to Xbox Wire. “The actual collaboration itself begun with Mr. Martin ever so politely confirming what sorts of themes, ideas as well as many game-related aspects I had envisioned for the game. This allowed us to have many free and creative conversations regarding the game, in which Mr. Martin later used as a base to write the overarching mythos for the game world itself.”

Martin penned the mythos, then, leaving FromSoftware to handle the technical stuff, which makes perfect sense. As Miyazaki puts it, “This mythos proved to be full of interesting characters and drama along with a plethora of mystical and mysterious elements as well. It was a wonderful source of stimulus for me and the development staff.”

Read More: 40 Best Video Games to Play in 2019

Elden Ring Characters: Who Is The Guy In The Trailer?

In that same Xbox Wire interview, which is well worth reading in full, Miyazaki teased a little about the character in the trailer that holds a reanimated hand aloft: “We chose this character because of his eccentric aspects as well as the way he portrays the darkness that the world and story possess.

“While Elden Ring may be a classic dark fantasy title, it is more than just that. This character also represents one more theme in addition to the previously mentioned eccentricity. That theme is the will, or ambition of mankind.” This is starting to sound like a pretty deep and exciting game, isn’t it? We look forward to learning more about it.

Elden Ring Release Date: It Hasn’t Been Set Yet

The exact release date for Elden Ring is yet to be confirmed, but we do know that the game is destined to launch on Xbox One, PS4, and PC. We’ll keep you posted as we hear more.