The studio behind Elden Ring, Dark Souls, and Bloodborne may be under investor pressure, but Hidetaka Miyazaki says FromSoftware’s value comes precisely from not turning into a predictable sequel machine.
FromSoftware is now one of the few high-prestige studios whose audience still believes a new game is not being created purely as a business risk-reduction exercise. After Elden Ring, the Dark Souls series, and Bloodborne, it is hardly surprising that some investors would prefer safer sequels, more predictable content, and a clearer revenue path from the Kadokawa-owned developer. Hidetaka Miyazaki, FromSoftware’s president and the director of Elden Ring, has made it clear, however, that the studio’s priority is not to move along the safest possible track at all costs, but to keep making games with real value.
Miyazaki was careful in his comments, since he was not speaking on behalf of the entire company. He said he is aware of the publicly reported facts, but is not in a position to discuss every detail, especially with many other people involved. That is why he stressed that his response was a personal view rather than an official corporate statement. Even so, the message was not difficult to read: he is generally satisfied with FromSoftware’s current development environment, even if there are naturally still areas that could be improved.
“We are able to freely create the games we want to make without excessive interference”, Miyazaki said. In his view, preserving that environment is crucial because it allows the team to focus as much as possible on game development itself. The director suggested that this freedom is the reason behind FromSoftware’s output, and he also sent a clear message to players: the studio will continue working harder than ever to create truly valuable games, including both titles that have already been announced and those still kept under wraps.
FromSoftware Did Not Start Experimenting Yesterday
Although Miyazaki officially spoke only for himself, it is hard not to read his comments as a defense of FromSoftware’s entire creative philosophy. After the enormous success of Elden Ring, the studio did not simply move straight into a traditional, safe sequel, but tried a multiplayer roguelite-flavored side project with Elden Ring Nightreign. Many were skeptical at first, yet the studio still managed to show that FromSoftware is not necessarily interested in serving the same formula again and again.
The same attitude can be seen in The Duskbloods, which appears to challenge the action-RPG formula the studio created and refined from yet another direction. This kind of stubbornness has always been part of FromSoftware’s history: Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice was not simply another Dark Souls clone, while Déraciné showed even more clearly that Miyazaki’s team is sometimes willing to move far away from its own comfort zone. That is not always the safest business path, but it is exactly why the studio’s name still feels exciting.
Many players would obviously welcome Bloodborne 2, and there is nothing strange about that. The problem begins when an entire industry tries to sustain itself almost exclusively through sequels, remakes, reboots, and established brands. FromSoftware’s value lies precisely in the fact that even after its biggest successes, it still does not seem fully willing to fall into that line. If Miyazaki can genuinely protect the development freedom he is talking about, the studio may preserve not only its own past, but also the rare trust that players now give to very few major developers.
Source: WCCFTech
