Is Elden Ring Connected to Dark Souls?

Elden Ring’s story was, in part, co-authored by George R.R. Martin, which is fine. I’m not at all bitter that, 10 years after A Dance with Dragons, he still hasn’t published The Winds of Winter. But if you’ve played FromSoftware’s previous games, you might be wondering whether Elden Ring is connected to Dark Souls, so here’s the answer.

The Connection Between Elden Ring and Dark Souls

Elden Ring has a lot of elements and themes in common with the Dark Souls trilogy. There are dragons, aloof demigods, the undead, and a general sense that the world is winding down, etc. Oh, and poison swamps, lots of poison swamps.

Those commonalities are, however, more down to FromSoftware’s development choices. There is no official connection between Dark Souls and Elden Ring. Dark Souls I – III occupy their own universe, and so do Elden Ring, Bloodborne, and Demon’s Souls.

That hasn’t stopped fans from formulating their own theories, and if it’s your headcanon that the two are connected, that’s fine. I’d pay good money for an Armored Core / Demon’s Souls crossover myself. Let’s see how long the Dragon God lasts against a grenade launcher and a big arm-mounted Pyramid Head knife.

So the answer to whether Elden Ring is connected to Dark Souls is that, while they do have things in common, there’s no official connection.