Elden Ring was an "enormous success," but Hidetaka Miyazaki says that doesn't mean the open-world genre will "become the new standard" for future FromSoftware games
Jun. 18, 2024More open-world Soulslike chaos could arrive in the future
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AsFromSoftwareprepares forElden Ring’s Shadow of the Erdtree expansion, president Hidetaka Miyazaki reveals that more open-world Soulslike games could come - but that doesn’t mean they’ll define the studio.
Speaking in an interview withGameSpot, Miyazaki shares his thoughts on Elden Ring being an open-world hit and whether the genre will become “the baseline” for the company’s future games. “I wouldn’t necessarily say that open world is going to become the new base or foundation or standard of the company,” Miyazaki explains. “We have a lot of game directors and designers who are growing, so we’d love to keep an open mind in terms of the types of games that we develop.”
The FromSoftware lead continues, providing exciting yet vague comments about upcoming games from the beloved Soulslike studio: “So, of course, I can’t really say anything at this exact moment, but perhaps when you see future announcements from FromSoftware you’ll look back at this point and think, ‘Ah, that’s what he meant.'” While Miyazaki doesn’t expand on what fans may see later on, it certainly sounds like the company might not be done with the open-world genre - but it also isn’t strictly adhering to it from here on out.
As for Elden Ring, Miyazaki says he wasn’t “100% sure” the team could pull its open world off initially. “We’ve always wanted to push the status quo and kind of extend ourselves a little bit, which was what helped create Elden Ring.” Leaning into the open-world genre was key while developing the critically acclaimed game, he explains, as “a lot of the core concepts came down to giving players this adventurous feel, this very open-world freedom” and then “adjusting the difficulty to match that freedom that we’re giving players.”
Miyazaki feels that FromSoftware accomplished as much with Elden Ring, but “nothing is ever perfect.” If given the chance to “redo” the open-world RPG, the president admits that he “might do something differently but I would like the chance to revisit a lot of the themes that we set out to achieve.” Could that mean a future open-world game from FromSoftware that encompasses some of those themes? There’s no telling now, but fans have more non-linear, open-world fun inShadow of the Erdtreeto look forward to for now.
FromSoftware’s Hidetaka Miyazaki addresses recent mass developer layoffs, assuring Dark Souls and Elden Ring fans “that’s something I would not let happen.”
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After spending years with her head in various fantastical realms’ clouds, Anna studied English Literature and then Medieval History at the University of Edinburgh, going on to specialize in narrative design and video game journalism as a writer. She has written for various publications since her postgraduate studies, including Dexerto, Fanbyte, GameSpot, IGN, PCGamesN, and more. When she’s not frantically trying to form words into coherent sentences, she’s probably daydreaming about becoming a fairy druid and befriending every animal or she’s spending a thousand (more) hours traversing the Underdark in Baldur’s Gate 3. If you spot her away from her PC, you’ll always find Anna with a fantasy book, a handheld video game console of some sort, and a Tamagotchi or two on hand.
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