A few weeks back “A Song of Ice and Fire” author George R.R. Martin shared his thoughts on how Game of Thrones ended and more. In sharing those thoughts, he briefly mentioned consulting on a new video game out of Japan which led to whispers that it might be a game from Dark Souls, Bloodborne, and Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice developer FromSoftware.

At E3 2019, this was confirmed. An announcement trailer was released for Elden Ring, a new game from Dark Souls creator Hidetaka Miyazaki and Martin developed by FromSoftware and Bandai Namco Entertainment.

You can find more information on Elden Ring and give the announcement trailer a watch below.

Bandai Namco Entertainment America Community Specialist Sam Wilkinson had a lengthy chat with Miyazaki about the game. In that chat Miyazaki said the game was a third-person dark fantasy which would focus more on RPG elements than the action-heavy Sekiro did. He was sure to note, however, that they would not be “shying away from the fun of responsive melee-based combat.”

During the chat, Wilkinson asked Miyazaki how the collaboration with Martin came to be and how it would differ from their other games. Here’s what he had to say:

Wilkinson: Regarding the collaboration with George R. R. Martin, can you further explain how this collaboration came about and in what role it has served throughout the project?

Miyazaki: I suppose the start of this collaboration came from the fact that I myself am I huge fan of Mr. Martin’s work.

I loved “A Song of Ice and Fire” as well as the “Tuf Voyaging” series, however if I had to pick a favorite 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.

Me being such a known fan of Mr. Martin caused our executive business director Eiichi Nakajima to reach out to him with the expectation that we would get turned down.

However, we were then given the rare opportunity to talk one-on-one with Mr. Martin which was an incredibly fun and stimulating experience. It was then that I strongly felt that I wanted to work with Mr. Martin.

I am still unable to put into words how grateful I am to Mr. Martin for agreeing to our offer.

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.

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.

Elden Ring’s world was constructed using this mythos and stimulus as a base. 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.

Wilkinson: What are some differences when compared to your previous titles (especially Dark Souls)?

Miyazaki: If I were to put aside the world full of fresh stimulus thanks to our collaboration with Mr. Martin, I would have to say the biggest difference is it being open world.

Due to this, the scale of the world and its narrative, as well as the depth and freedom of exploration have increased dramatically. It is without a doubt our biggest title yet in terms of sheer volume.

There are many definitions to the term “open world,” and I might not be phrasing it correctly, but we have simply tried our own approach to a game with a large, open field to play in.

It is a world full of danger and threats, as well as many areas ripe for exploration.

Among those areas, you will also find intricately designed, multi-layered castles and such.

You can read the full chat over at Xbox.

No release window for Elden Ring has been announced yet.

Be sure to click right here for more from E3 2019!

Trailer

Developed by FromSoftware, Inc. and BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment Inc., ELDEN RING is a is a fantasy action-RPG adventure set within a world created by Hidetaka Miyazaki – creator of the influential DARK SOULS video game series; and George R.R. Martin – author of The New York Times best-selling fantasy series, A Song of Ice and Fire. Within the world of ELDEN RING, danger and discovery lurk around every corner in FromSoftware’s largest game to-date.

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