In other words, it’s a really rich universe to mine for future video games. Moorcock’s literary creations include Corum, the Dancers at the End of Time, Hawkmoon, Jerry Cornelius, Von Bek and Elric of Melniboné. This kind of multiverse, with its own Moorcock fantasy flavor, isn’t so far from the threads that shape the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the talk of the metaverse today. This Champion is basically doomed to fight for all of eternity (hence his name), across multiple lifetimes, versions of Earth, and versions of himself. Moorcock’s series about Elric was interesting because he chose to weave it into a larger universe about the Eternal Champion and a “multiverse” of worlds where the doomed heroes journeyed in hopes of saving the world. Unlike many other fantasy series, Moorcock really explores and focuses on the fact that being the chosen one is actually a really life-shattering and psychologically terrible fate.

I’m still looking for the other two in my garage. I fished out four of the original Elric books and took a picture of them for this story. “I am sure they will make the best game possible.”Īs I mentioned, I’m excited about this adaptation. “For many years I have looked forward to seeing Elric translated into a state of the art video game and at last it looks as if Runatyr are going to bring that dream to fruition,” Moorcock said in a statement.

Moorcock, who is 81, is said to have taken a liking to the narrative presented as the story told within the game and will take part in the development. The doomed albino character finds the sword Stormbringer, which gives him power and fighting prowess, but it must feed on souls, including those who are close to Elric. Elric was appealing as a tragic anti-hero. The story will focus on the first six books in the Elric saga, which depicts the reign of Elric, the last sorcerer-emperor of the island-kingdom of Melniboné. The independent-focused companies hope to ship a narrative action computer game in 2024. Stockholm, Sweden-based Runatyr will work with development collective Aurora Punks and United Kingdom-based studio Upstream Arcade on the project. (Hillborg said he wasn’t yet ready to talk about the game’s art style, but he said the contributions of fans have been amazing.) Elric has also been drawn countless times. The Finnish version of Dungeons in Dragons in the 1980s had Elric’s sword, Stormbringer, on its cover. In Michael Moorcock's fantasy universe, the Eternal Champion is a reincarnating hero who's lived many lives in the multiverse and whose deeds are part of a larger interdimensional struggle for cosmic balance between the forces of Law and Chaos. The band Blue Oyster Cult made songs about Elric. Over time, Elric has become a huge part of fantasy culture.

Michael moorcock eternal champion