FromSoftware parent company Kadokawa announces acquisition of Octopath Traveler co-developer Acquire

FromSoftware director Hidetaka Miyazaki would love to make more games that are as big as Elden Ring, which is sure to be music to the ears of many fans.  

Amidst widespread layoffs, rising development costs, increasingly protracted development cycles, and more, the games industry is looking more destabilized than it has in a long time, but some studios seem to be immune to that. One prominent example is Dark Souls and Elden Ring developer FromSoftware, a studio that has not only not had to resort to laying off staff, but is actually growing increasingly larger, and continues to put out universally acclaimed, commercially successful titles at a rate that has, frankly, been startling.

Hidetaka Miyazaki is inextricably linked to FromSoftware in a way that we very rarely see with directors and studios. Having directed the likes of Demon’s Souls, Dark Souls, Bloodborne, Dark Souls 3, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, and Elden Ring, Miyazaki is responsible from some of the studio’s biggest hits over the last decade and a half, and has led the teams for the overwhelming majority of its flagship releases.

Elden Ring's director says both himself and FromSoftware at large don't feel pressured by other games in the 'Souls-like' genre.

The folks over at FromSoftware have made new headlines this week, all thanks to a recent trailer drop. Elden Ring fans were treated to a new gameplay trailer for the upcoming Shadows of the Erdtree. This would be DLC for their behemoth of a hit, Elden Ring. But for some fans, there might be some hope that Armored Core might not become a dormant franchise again. Fortunately, this franchise doesn’t look like it will be shelved for the long haul.

Elden Ring's director believes Dark Souls 2 ultimately helped the overall series, partly because it had different directors.

FromSoftware has seen extensive success over the past decade, especially with the launch of 2022’s Elden Ring (whose expansion Shadow of the Erdtree launches this Summer). However, despite its launch in March 2015, Bloodborne remains a favorite among many fans. It’s also one of the few PlayStation 4 exclusives lacking a remake, remaster, port or PS5 upgrade.

As one of the best-reviewed games of all time and with more than 23 million copies shipped worldwide, Elden Ring has been an enormous success for developer FromSoftware, which means it’s only natural to assume that the studio isn’t going to be done with this IP anytime soon in the near future. However, according to FromSoftware boss and Elden Ring director Hidetaka Miyazaki, currently, there are no plans in place for a second expansion following the June release of Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree, nor for a full-fledged sequel.

After more than a decade of wowing the industry with its gene-defining Soulslike games, last year, FromSoftware brought the Armored Core franchise back with Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon. The mech action title received widespread acclaim from critics and audiences alike, but is the wait for the next game in the series going to be as long as it was for Armored Core 6? That much remains to be seen, but at the very least, the studio has every intention of making more games in the franchise.

Elden Ring's Shadow of the Erdtree expansion will be FromSoftware's biggest DLC to date.

Elden Ring's Shadow of the Erdtree DLC got a new trailer and release date, which has brought director Hidetaka Miyazaki into the spotlight once again. He was interviewed by a number of different outlets recently, in which he revealed tidbits such as the general difficulty of Shadow of the Erdtree, as well the likelihood of us getting an Elden Ring sequel any time soon.

FromSoftware president Hidetaka Miyazaki has commented on the turbulent state of the video game industry with regards to layoffs, saying his current vision for the company is expansion.