Acclaimed fantasy author (and huge From Software fan) Brandon Sanderson has teasingly decried Game of Thrones writer George R.R. Martin’s involvement in the upcoming Elden Ring.
Sanderson – whose expansive oeuvre includes the likes of the Mistborn saga and the final chapter in Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series – made the comments during a panel at 2021’s Dragonsteel MiniCon (as spotted by TechRadar), which has recently surfaced online.
In a segment discussing the events leading up to Mistborn character Kelsier’s rather unexpected appearance in Fortnite, Sanderson segued onto the topic of Elden Ring.
“Let me be salty,” Sanderson began his mock tirade. “From Software decides to make a fantasy game and partner with a fantasy novelist, and they choose someone who spends his days blogging about the NFL, rather than the person who has played their games since King’s Field and has listed their games as his top favourite games…consistently over time.”
“What are you thinking people?,” Sanderson concluded in faux fury. “George doesn’t play games! George has no idea!”.
10 Details in the Elden Ring Beta You Really Need to See.
Martin, for his part, has readily admitted to having a limited knowledge of video games in the past, writing in a blog post last December, “Now, video games are not really my thing – oh, I played a few back in the dawn of time, mainly strategy games like Railroad Tycoon, Romance of the Three Kingdoms, and Master of Orion – but [the Elden Ring] offer was too exciting to refuse.”
Martin’s involvement in the project, which saw him helping to create “a deep, dark, resonant world to serve as a foundation for the game”, came at the behest of From Software’s Hidetaka Miyazaki, a self-confessed admirer of the author.
“I suppose the start of this collaboration came from the fact that I myself am a huge fan of Mr. Martin’s work,” Miyazaki explained in an interview with Xbox back in 2019. “I loved A Song of Ice and Fire as well as the Tuf Voyaging series; however if I had to pick a favourite I would probably say Fevre Dream. I personally see Fevre Dream as a masterpiece among vampire fantasy and had even previously recommended it to all new employees.”
“Elden Ring’s world was constructed using [Martin’s] mythos and stimulus as a base,” Miyazaki continued. “Even I myself find it hard to contain my excitement from time to time. We hope that everyone else is looking forward to the world we have created.”
It’s probably be fair to say that excitement for Elden Ring is now some considerable way beyond merely ‘looking forward’ to the long-awaited open-world fantasy adventure; players will finally have the opportunity to witness the fruits of From’s collaboration with Martin for themselves when the game launches on PlayStation, Xbox, and PC on 25th February.
