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Does ‘Elden Ring’ Confirm ‘Game of Thrones’ Fan Theories?

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With dwindling hope of getting the next installment of A Song of Ice and Fire anytime soon, some Game of Thrones fans are turning to the video game Elden Ring for their fix. ASoIaF author George R.R. martin helped write some of the worldbuilding for the new high-fantasy video game, and fans suspect that it includes some nods to his own series. Many think it is the closest they’ll get to the proper ending of Game of Thrones.

For those unaware, a huge contingent of Game of Thrones fans is still active online sharing fan theories about how they believe Martin’s final two novels, The Winds of Winter and A Dream of Spring, will end his series in a more satisfying way than the HBO TV adaptation. That often includes fan theories that lead to the same basic events, but with much more magical connections. YouTuber David Lightbringer is one of the purveyors of such content, and on Wednesday he pointed out that some of his ASoIaF fan theories seem to be playing out in Elden Ring.

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“OK so it sounds like if we want the end of ASOIAF – at least the big level magic ending โ€“ we have to play Elden Ring, he tweeted. “Seems [Martin] put all his major lore secrets in there โ€“ a second ‘black moon’ that falls to the earth, star swords, Nissa Nissa in the [Wierwood] net… Jeez man. I’m over here reading about how to play Windows games on my Mac M1. Goddammit, George why couldn’t you just write this stuff down.”

Several fans agreed, replying with their own observations of Elden Ring‘s connections to A Song of Ice and Fire. For better or worse, they felt that this was the best place to get their fix, as many are losing hope that Martin will finish his series any time soon.

Martin published the most recent installment of A Song of Ice and Fire, A Dance of Dragons, back in 2011 โ€“ the same year that Game of Thrones Season 1 premiered. The author has been candid about experiencing writer’s block since then, admitting that at times the public pressure has gotten to him. For the most part, fans have been supportive and understanding in the years since, but his most recent blog post was the final straw for some.

Earlier this month, Martin posted an update on everything he is working on right now, including books and TV shows. Unlike previous posts, this one said that all the projects on his slate were of equal importance to him, with The Winds of Winter taking no special urgency. He wrote: “I know, I know, for many of you out there, only one of those projects matters. I am sorry for you. They ALL matter to me. Yes, of course, I am still working on THE WINDS OF WINTER.”

Still, we have other indications that The Winds of Winter is at least the next book on Martin’s plate, even if some of the TV shows are taking up more of his time. Right now, we can only look forward to HBO’s House of the Dragon, which is expected to premiere sometime this year on HBO. That is, of course, if you don’t count Elden Ring, which is available now on PC and several other video game consoles.