How George RR Martin is involved in Elden Ring

Sam Smith
Elden Ring and GRRM

Elden Ring is a collaboration between Dark Souls mastermind Hidetaka Miyazaki and Game of Thrones creator George R.R. Martin, but just what is the celebrated author’s involvement with the game? Here’s all we know about George R.R. Martin’s Elden Ring input.

Elden Ring creators George R.R. Martin and Hidetaka Miyazaki are considered two of the most twisted – and celebrated – minds in fantasy. Both enjoy creating dark gritty worlds where mortality is fluid and characters exist in the grey area between good and evil. The universes both men create are often bleak, relying on their themes and atmosphere to carry the narrative.

This is especially true for Miyazaki and FromSoftware’s games, with the developers keeping the Soul’s games’ stories minimalistic to allow the player to piece it together for themselves. However, by hiring a veteran fantasy author like George R.R. Martin, how can Elden Ring keep this approach. Surely this would make Elden Ring’s storytelling more overt than its Souls predecessors? This raises questions about Martin’s contribution to Elden Ring’s development.

So how much of Elden Ring comes from George R.R. Martin’s mind, and how much of it will feel like a traditional Souls experience? Here’s all we know about how George RR Martin’s Elden Ring contribution came about.

Elden Ring screenshot showing the Erdtree
Elden Ring will exist in a bleak, dark world.

George RR Martin’s Elden Ring contribution

As with most of FromSoftware’s titles, Elden Ring’s plot will likely be kept secret so that players can discover everything for themselves through environmental storytelling and character dialogue. However, with Martin at the helm, fans have theorized that Elden Ring may place a greater emphasis on narrative than previous Souls games. This would allow GRRM’s contributions to really shine through, after all, why else hire the author of A Song of Ice and Fire?

Martin has confirmed that his involvement in Elden Ring concluded some time ago and that he and Miyazaki created the game’s lore together. It appears that Martin mostly scoped out the game’s basic story, world history, and characters before Miyazaki added that classic Souls flavor. Therefore fans of both creators will likely find strands of Dark Souls and Game of Thrones DNA throughout Elden Ring.

Elden Ring logo
Elden Ring’s story was written by George R.R Martin and Hidetaka Miyazaki.

What has GRRM said about Elden Ring?

George R.R. Martin himself has now revealed the extent of his involvement in Elden Ring, providing a little insight into his contributions. On his ‘Not a Blog’ blog, Martin confessed that in the past, video games have  “not really [been] his thing”, but Dark Souls creator Hidetaka Miyazaki was able to sell him on Elden Ring, sparking the collaboration.

Martin said, “Miyazaki and his team from FromSoftware were doing groundbreaking stuff with gorgeous art, and what they wanted from me was just a bit of worldbuilding: a deep, dark, resonant world to serve as a foundation for the game they planned to create. And as it happens, I love creating worlds and writing imaginary history. But the day of Elden Ring is finally at hand. And I’ve got to say, it looks incredible.”


For more on Elden Ring, be sure to check out more of our guide content:

Elden Ring PC Requirements | All character classes | Is Elden Ring a Souls game? | All we know about multiplayer

About The Author

Sam is a Senior Games Writer for Dexerto specializing in Survival Horror, Diablo, Final Fantasy, and Soulslikes. An NCTJ accredited journalist, Sam also holds a degree in journalism from the University of Central Lancashire and has many years of experience as a professional writer. Being able to marry his love of writing with his addiction to video games was always one of his life goals. He also loves all things PlayStation, Xbox and Nintendo in equal measure. Contact at sam.smith@dexerto.com