Announced at
E3 2019,
Elden Ring is an upcoming
dark fantasy action role-playing game developed by
FromSoftware and published by
Bandai Namco Entertainment and
FromSoftware for
Microsoft Windows,
PlayStation 4, and
Xbox One.
[1] The game is being directed by
Hidetaka Miyazaki, best known for creating the
Souls series also developed by FromSoftware, with
worldbuilding by
fantasy novelist George R. R. Martin, best known for his
A Song of Ice and Fire novel series.
[2] A fan of Martin's work, Miyazaki contacted him with an offer to work together on a project, giving him the creative freedom to write the overarching backstory of the game's universe. Miyazaki used his contributions as the foundation of the game's narrative, comparing the process to that of using a "
dungeon master's handbook in a
tabletop RPG".
[2][3] In addition, some staff from
Game of Thrones, a television series adaptation of
A Song of Ice and Fire, assisted with the game's development.
[4]
Elden Ring began development in early 2017 following the release of
The Ringed City, a piece of
downloadable content for
Dark Souls III.
[5] As with Miyazaki's
Souls games,
Elden Ring will have the ability for players to create their own
custom characters instead of playing as a fixed protagonist.
[3] Miyazaki also considered Elden Ring to be a more "natural evolution" to the Souls series, as the game will be much larger in scale compared to them, featuring an open world with new gameplay mechanics such as horseback riding and combat.[3][5] However, unlike many other open world games, Elden Ring will not feature populated towns with non-player characters, with the world having numerous dungeon-like ruins in place of them instead.[3] When asked about the possibility of the story being novelized, Miyazaki stated that he would rather have players experience it themselves by playing the game, as he thinks the game's secrets and mysteries would be spoiled otherwise.
[3] The score is being written by Yuka Kitamura, who has composed for many of Miyazaki's previous games.
[6]
On March 1, 2021, an unreleased trailer and previously-unseen gameplay footage from an internal shareholder's meeting was leaked online.
[7]