George R. R. Martin was an important part of building Elden Ring’s world, and it seems like FromSoftware would be open to similar collaborations in the future.
While there still aren’t really all the many specifics about the actual work that Martin did, he’s obviously been billed as the person that set the foundations for Elden Ring. It’s something that sets it apart from other FromSoftware titles, even if it might just be a bit of a PR move. Bandai Namco is apparently interested in working with fantasy author Brandon Sanderson, but whether that’s at all related to anything FromSoftware or not isn’t clear, and the author himself is open to the idea too. In a recent interview with GameSpot (thanks, GamesRadar), game director Hidetaka Miyazaki was asked about the possibility of another similar collab, which he seemed very open to.
“One of the huge value-adds of Elden Ring is, of course, George R. R. Martin’s contribution in terms of the lore and the mythology, and it is one of the very unique points that other From Software games don’t have,” Miyazaki explained. “When the team was able to start unpacking his lore and his mythology, it turned into a huge stimulation for us, and it was something that on the development side, we don’t get to experience that often. So there was a lot of fun in terms of the world-building and world-setting and trying to decipher and depict and then translate that to what players see on screen.
“So if we have the chance to work with another major creator, I think we would definitely be open to exploring that because of how unique the experience was, both on the development side as well as what players experienced.”
As part of the same interview, Miyazaki also touched on whether or not he’s interested in a Dark Souls or Elden Ring movie, and in another interview he also spoke of his interest in making a traditional JRPG (just don’t expect an Enchanted Arms sequel).