Elden Ring is officially less than a month away from launch, a day many fans have dreamed of but never thought would come. It’s no secret that, after its initial reveal, it dropped off the map entirely. That’s not to say fans weren’t aware of it and excited for it, but that event after event passed without its presence and any Elden Ring news seemed less likely by the day. One aspect fans have known for quite some time, though, is that FromSoftware collaborated with A Song of Fire and Ice author George R. R. Martin on the game’s world and mythos.
From there, FromSoftware took off and soon fans will see how this collaboration plays out. However, not everyone is happy with this decision. Mistborn author Brandon Sanderson recently shared his opinion on FromSoftware’s decision to work with George R. R. Martin. For anyone unaware, Mistborn is an incredibly popular book series, crafted by Sanderson, that has received high praise since its inception. Mistborn has a history with video games too, recently appearing in a crossover with Fortnite and was once set to get a video game prequel before its official cancellation in 2016/2017.
During a live recording of his Intentionally Blank podcast (and first reported by VGC), Sanderson was discussing the process behind how Mistborn character Kelsier made it into Fortnite before expressing, “but let me be salty.” This led straight into his criticism of FromSoftware’s decision to work with George R. R. Martin on Elden Ring.
“FromSoftware decides to make a fantasy game and partner with a fantasy novelist, right? 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 among his top 10 consistently over time? What are you thinking, people?” He would go on to quickly explain, for anyone who wasn’t aware, that From went to George R. R. Martin for the game, repeated that Martin doesn’t play games, and ended with a “So anyway, there you go.”
It's clear that Sanderson isn’t really happy about this decision, but George R. R. Martin’s lack of experience with video games hasn’t been any real secret for audiences either. When Martin discussed his role in Elden Ring, he remarked that video games are not really his thing and explain his work on it was years ago—long before anyone even knew Elden Ring existed.
Again, Martin worked on worldbuilding, mythos, and background information, and if it weren’t for this outright confirmation of Martin’s involvement, it’s not likely fans would really even be able to tell. Dark fantasy is a genre both Martin and Elden Ring director Hidetaka Miyazaki have both really perfected in their own mediums, and the collaboration of the two ought to be interesting—even if it’s not everyone’s cup of tea.
Elden Ring is set to release on February 25 on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
Source: VGC