Shadow of the Erdtree DLC

Elden Ring is a massive game, and the string of stories about this game does not seem to have an end. Every time someone working on this title sits for an interview, a new thing comes out. Mostly, that person is none other than its legendary director, Hidetaka Miyazaki. And over time, he has revealed a lot about this massive game, hinted at its twists, and pointed out some hidden details.

This time he got around to talking about the upcoming expansion, Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree. Alongside discussing the story, gameplay mechanics, and characters of this upcoming DLC, he also went on to discuss the input of legendary writer George R. R. Martin in The Story of Elden Ring.

George R. R. Martin laid the foundation for Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree

Years ago, when FromSoftware announced Elden Ring, the involvement of George R. R. Martin in that project blew everyone away. He is no doubt one of the most suitable people for the kind of games that they develop.

He proved his expertise in writing dark high fantasy stories long ago when he started the now-popular A Song of Ice and Fire series of books. They are now widely known as the Game of Thrones, all thanks to the popular series that aired on HBO a while ago.

And then, Hidetaka Miyazaki also stated how much of a fan he was of George R. R. Martin. That’s how they started working together, and no doubt they struck a cord. Their way of telling dark stories is pretty similar. Hidetaka Miyazaki has been telling these dark tales ever since the launch of Demon Souls.

He followed that excellent story with games like Dark Souls, Bloodborne, etc. And each of those games has a hint of the aesthetic that makes Game of Thrones so engaging. These two were a match made in heaven.

George R. R. Martin was tasked with writing the lore or mythology of the Elden Ring. What happened years before the main story of the game? He named everyone’s father’s father; he even wrote what happened to that person and where he might be today. And that’s how he laid the foundation of this story.

But fans might be wondering how he influenced the story of the upcoming DLC. Shadow of the Erdtree is launching later this year, and fans have noticed a bunch of new exciting stuff in the trailer, everyone cannot help but wonder if George R. R. Martin had any influence on this DLC too.

When someone at Famitsu asked Hidetaka Miyazaki this same question, he had a very simple answer: “Martin’s involvement is the same as in the main title. The world and story of the DLC was inspired by the mythology that he penned just as in the main title, and was created thus. To be more precise, what was created this time is part of what was created from the inspiration we took from his mythology for the main title. So, there was no additional writing done specifically for the DLC.”

This answer suggests that the story in the DLC is also influenced by the lore written by Martin. Maybe he had mentioned all the DLC characters in his writing, and that’s what Hidetaka Miyazaki is using.

It would be exciting to see what these two geniuses have prepared for their respective fans this time around.

Who would be the main character in Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree, Messmer or Miquella?

Fans have gotten their first glimpse at Miquella in the trailer for Shadow of the Erdtree. Everyone is speculating that the character shown at the end of the trailer is none other than Miquella. On the other hand, fans have also been introduced to Malenia’s other child, Messmer. Now fans are confused: who would be the focus of this DLC?

This question is hard to answer given the fact that Miquella has been the focus of most discussions ever since the game launched, and in-game too, he holds immense power. But Messmer is also introduced in the same way Malenia was; maybe they are working together? Whatever might come, fans will know when the DLC launches on June 20, 2024.