"Elden Ring is really the limit": Hidetaka Miyazaki says he'd be concerned about pushing FromSoftware to make something bigger than its open-world RPG masterwork

Jun. 27, 2024

“We’ve tapped every resource and talent that we have access to”

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FromSoftwarepresident Hidetaka Miyazaki says he’d “have my concerns” about pushing the studio to make a game larger thanElden Ring, which already forced him and the team to draw on “every resource and talent that we have access to.”

Speaking withThe Guardian, Miyazaki assesses the size of FromSoftware against the size of Elden Ring, the studio’s biggest game by orders of magnitude. Its newShadow of the ErdtreeDLC alone is bigger than most of the studio’s previous games. Making something bigger still, even following Elden Ring’s explosive success – which obviously provided a financial cushion but hasn’t necessarily translated to expansion within the studio – is daunting.

“Where FromSoftware is right now, in terms of scale, I would say Elden Ring is really the limit,” Miyazaki says. “We’ve tapped every resource and talent that we have access to … scaling it even bigger, I’d have my concerns. Perhaps having multiple projects is the next stage, where some of the other younger talent can have the opportunity to manage and direct game design for a smaller project.”

The load-bearing phrase here is likely this: “Where FromSoftware is right now.” The developer is surely still adjusting to Elden Ring’s outlier success, as well as the attention and opportunities it’s brought, with Miyazaki and other executives likely weighing up options for growth against the risks of overreaching or altering the studio’s culture. FromSoftware won’t double in size overnight, but it’s reasonable to expect the studio to one day grow beyond its longstanding production setup.

In a separate interview, Miyazakirecently described Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice as a turning point of its own, but in the context of FromSoftware’s approach to action combat. “There’s one more level we can crank it up to,” he said, suggesting FromSoftware games could get faster and more fluid still.

Miyazaki says “I absolutely suck at video games,” but still got through Elden Ring by using “every scrap of aid that the game offers.”

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