The Game of Thrones has influenced various video games but Bethesda Game Studios almost had the chance to set their 2011 game, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, in the GoT Universe. The books by George R. R. Martin have also inspired FromSoftware’s director Hidetaka Miyazaki while he was working on his Soulslike games.
As for Skyrim, it was almost made after Martin’s first novel in A Song of Ice and Fire series, A Game of Thrones. Todd Howard, Bethesda boss, once explained how they had a conversation with Martin’s representatives. Unfortunately, the idea was scrapped because Bethesda was more focused on building its own world. To set the game in the GoT universe, the creators would have to work overtime to make sure they stay true to the source material.
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim was almost set in the Game of Thrones universe
Todd Howard, Bethesda boss, once revealed in an interview with Electronic Gaming Monthly that author George R.R. Martin’s people approached Bethesda to create a game based on Martin’s A Game of Thrones, the first novel in A Song of Ice and Fire series. At the time, Bethesda was working on The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and wanted to create their own world. Howard explained (via ReactorMag),
“We wanted to do our own world. That’s where we wanted to put out time into. Before we were even making Skyrim, there was a conversation with George R.R. Martin’s people. They thought it would be a good match – and so did we, actually – but then we thought about if that was where we wanted to spend our time. It was tempting, though.”
Creating a game in the GoT universe meant that Bethesda would have to limit their creativity to the source material.
Naturally, they turned down the offer and continued to create the worldbuilding for Skyrim the way they wanted it to be.
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim has sold over 60 million copies
As per IGN, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim has managed to sell more than 60 million copies since its release. Even without taking inspiration from Martin’s novels, Skyrim became one of the best-selling games of all time. Over the years, fans have got various updated versions of the game but even today, Skyrim competes with many modern action-adventure games.
George R. R. Martin is equally influential in the gaming industry as he has also worked with Hidetaka Miyazaki to create the worldbuilding for his 2022 game, Elden Ring. Martin became a prominent figure after his A Song of Ice and Fire series was adapted into the Emmy Award-winning HBO series Game of Thrones and its prequel series House of the Dragon.
