Update: George R.R. Martin has denied the rumors that he hid his initials in Elden Ring.
Original story follows.
George R.R. Martin's contribution to Elden Ring was always one of the more notable parts of the game's development. It was unclear what impact the A Song of Ice and Fire author would have on Elden Ring's world-building and narrative before it launched, but it appears as if many references and Easter eggs have also been influenced by Martin's contributions.
Like Dark Souls and Bloodborne before it, Elden Ring's bosses have been a huge point of discussion, especially due to how prolific they are throughout the open-world Lands Between. Recently, the FromSoftware community has made mention of a pattern found within the names of Elden Ring's Great Rune bosses. It may seem odd at first that each of their names are so similar, but PC Gamer has reportedly made the distinction with the rest of the FromSoftware community that the pattern here is purposeful.
That is because the majority of Elden Ring's boss names start with either the letter G, R, or M, in what seems to be a conscious nod to Martin's initials. These initials dominate many of the named bosses encountered in Elden Ring; for example, these names include Godfrey, Godwyn, Godrick, Rennala, Ranni, Renna, Radahn, Rykard, Radagon, Margit, Morgott, Mohg, Miquella, Malenia, Malekith, and Marika. Once this repetition is seen, it is impossible to deny that a pattern had been decided upon for each of the main bosses' names.
While it may make remembering each name a little more difficult when they all sound so similar, it is a significant reference to Martin and demonstrates how much his influence was celebrated in Elden Ring. It is possible that Martin himself had come to the decision of making characters' names reiterate an initial from his name, but FromSoftware could have also wanted to show their appreciation for Martin's contributions in that way. In contrast, Martin has also expressed how happy he is with Elden Ring's high review scores earlier this month.
Indeed, Martin's popularity in the fantasy genre of literature was a big full for FromSoftware. Hidetaka Miyazaki's interest in Western fantasy and Martin's own expertise in fantasy is a welcome marriage for Elden Ring's lore, which can span over one-hundred hours of content for players to fully experience. The potential for other Martin references embedded in the game is infinite as players continue to decipher each secret in every nook of Elden Ring.
Elden Ring is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
Source: PC Gamer