The Dark Souls and Bloodborne developer’s newly announced Elden Ring is a mystery we know little about, including the name itself.

Eager fans speculated early on the name could draw inspiration from another iconic series featuring a ring, namely J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. However, game director and FromSoftware president Hidetaka Miyazaki told IGN that's not the case in an exclusive interview.

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“The Lord of the Rings is the most classic fantasy novel, so of course Elden Ring is influenced by it to some degree," Miyazaki said, "but not in a direct way.”

He went on to say that Elden Ring isn’t even about a ring you wear on your finger, but that “ring” is used in the context of “circle”.

“The Elden Ring is a mysterious, key element in the foundation of the world we have created. It forms the rules and rhythm of this world. But as you can see in our trailer, it has been shattered.”

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This follows in line with the strong theme of many FromSoftware franchises, where a grand world has been broken, corrupted, or shattered at the time the games take place. Whatever the Elden Ring is, it's clearly central to the game's story, but Miyazaki stresses that it is also somehow connected to the gameplay.

And that gameplay will be familiar, as Miyazaki explains Elden Ring’s gameplay as a Souls-like done in an open world environment. For much more Elden Ring directly from the creator, check our exclusive, full Elden Ring interview with Hidetaka Miyazaki

Esra Krabbe is IGN Japan’s Shenmue professor. Ask him about his time with Shenmue III on Twitter