Bandai Namco may collaborate with another American fantasy novelist after George R. R. Martin

Brandon Sanderson, author of the popular Mistborn series, the continuation and conclusion of the Wheel of Time, and many other fantasy novels, may be pursuing a future project with Elden Ring publisher, Bandai Namco.

On a recent episode of Sanderson's stream, Live with Brandon Sanderson, the author received a promo box from Bandai Namco including a map of the Lands Between, a cloak, a wooden icon of late-game boss and de facto Elden Ring mascot, Malenia, as well as an unsharpened broadsword. While Sanderson did not read the included letter aloud, when asked about its contents by a co-host he replied: "They are interested in perhaps doing something together, is what that says, which I am as well."

Sanderson had previously publicly complained about being passed over for collaboration with FromSoftware in favor of George R. R. Martin, asserting he had a more personal connection to its games as well as more knowledge of videogames in general. It seems to be water under the bridge for Sanderson, though—he spoke positively of FromSoft and Bandai Namco's choice to work with Martin in this recent episode of his stream.

There's no guarantee that these early communications could result in a collaboration between Sanderson and Bandai Namco, but such a relationship could go in any number of directions—not just a game. My first thought was a graphic novel set in the Lands Between. Bandai Namco previously indicated that it would "develop Elden Ring not only as a game but also in a variety of other areas" in a press release from the summer of 2021.

Sanderson's previous work on graphic novels like White Sand and Dark One, coupled with Bandai Namco's desire to build out the setting and the success of previous comic book adaptations of Dark Souls 2 and Bloodborne all leave this a potentially exciting route.

TOPICS

Ted has been thinking about PC games and bothering anyone who would listen with his thoughts on them ever since he booted up his sister's copy of Neverwinter Nights on the family computer. He is obsessed with all things CRPG and CRPG-adjacent, but has also covered esports, modding, and rare game collecting. When he's not playing or writing about games, you can find Ted lifting weights on his back porch. You can follow Ted on Bluesky.