Elden Ring is undeniably the star of early 2022. We should be approaching the 15 million copies sold at the moment. It’s colossal and this hyper popularity has changed a lot of things for the From Software studio. The studio is, more than ever, in the spotlight and you will see that its future is already well underway… So: “What is the continuation of the immense success of Elden Ring?”. We are going to answer this question which obviously works a lot for you…
Summary
- Elden Ring: its immediate future
- A fresh, cleaner start…
- More output, more icons?
- Elden Ring 2 ? question?
- Is the succession already on the right track?
The following text is a transcript of the video above
Let’s first talk regarding the immediate future ofElden Ring. The studio is not done with its goose that lays the golden egg. It is certain and even validated by Hidetaka Miyazaki, the boss of From Software and producer of the project, who gave an interview to a Japanese magazine. We learn that updates will indeed arrive, as has been the case since the release. If you know the studio a bit, you can imagine that the game is likely to take advantage of its success with one or more DLCs. We told you regarding it in our different episodes of JV LOREdedicated to Elden Ring, but there are totally unused places in the game. Coliseums in particular, spread over the map, which have no attached story. This is the opportunity for the studio to make PVP zones there, or even narrative sequences.
The history of Elden Ring is very rich and the game begins a little following the battle, while the kingdoms are decimated, emptied. It might therefore be interesting to immerse ourselves in the past of a specific area: the academy of Raya Lucaria during its ransacking, the castle of Radahn under the assaults of the forces of Malénia,… In short, as many intense passages as we have seen in cinematics or in trailers and that we would love to explore ourselves in additional content. And when we see the number of buyers of the basic game, who want more following 150 hours of play, drawing the big paid extension seems to be a logical and particularly juicy move for the studio and for the publisher Bandai Namco.
A fresh, cleaner start…
From Software, the studio behind Elden Ring and so many other games through the ages, is a Japanese company that has its flaws. Hard work, stress at work, low pay… In short, the trifecta of job-passion, which we have learned to denounce in the West, but which in Japan is still part of the furniture and still finds too little echo in the press. Bad luck, when Elden Ring is hitting and registering millions in sales in late February and early March 2022, people start to learn regarding working conditions internally. According to the evaluations of the studio’s employees, on the Career Connection site, the box is rated 2.6 out of 5. This is little. We are therefore, at first sight, stressed, poorly paid and not very happy at work when we work for From Software, and that, in the face of success, it quickly becomes a task. Especially since it’s 2022, and redemptions are common this year. It would therefore be a question, for From Software, of better dressing the bride…
As president and main producer of the box, Hidetaka Miyazaki now takes this observation very seriously and claimed to have, for several months, changed the lines. It must be said that following the success of Elden Ring, the box launched a major recruitment campaign, all over the place and reassures its candidates by raising the salaries of young graduates. On the group cohesion side, we are now betting on strong synergies between developers, and we are actively fighting once morest work exhaustion, what we commonly call crunch and which accompanies many AAA productions that are a little too eager to get out. FromSoftware wants new blood for its next projects. The studio needs it and assures the aspirants a better salary than before. On top of that, bonuses and performance bonuses are added. Miyazaki slips that with Elden Ring, since the game was a hit, it generated 4 months more salary for the main members of the team. Miyazaki therefore reassures the market: working at From Software has become cool, and if he says that, it’s not for nothing…
More output, more icons?
To understand what will happen following Elden Ring, you also have to understand how the studio and its catalog will operate from now on. For now, it’s a structure that still orbits far too much around Hidetaka Miyazaki, its star producer and CEO. And precisely, this problem, he is well aware of it. It is the icon of its own studio, which is a risk for the company. But since he does not intend to let go of his leadership and creative positions, he now wants to highlight other developers from his teams. It is for this reason that you will see more and more From Software productions coming out, projects on which it has very little influence. For him, creatives and their teams are sacred, and management must not get involved. After all, it is this same philosophy that has made his own career successful, and he wants to reproduce these conditions so that other minds stand out, within teams that are now more fulfilled.
As we have seen, 2022 is an active period for the studio: recruitment, salary increases and a multiplicity of projects with new stars to highlight. This should provide good stability to the studio, and it is not for nothing that From Software is the target of takeover rumors. A few weeks ago, analysts were talking regarding an acquisition by Sony, which would be a pretty huge move. It is therefore important for a box full of potential like From Software, to be as clean as possible, with a good return, and a regular catalog. The construction sites are therefore launched, all over the place and on the catalog side, can you imagine that the studio already has plenty of cartridges in its barrel…
Elden Ring 2 ? question?
“Among the projects already in the works, is there Elden Ring 2?” It’s a legitimate question when you see the trajectory of a certain Dark Souls who was entitled to 3 encrypted episodes. Still, sequels, Miyazaki, aren’t really his thing. It’s more something that we consistently asked him to do. His favorite projects are Demon’s Souls, Dark Souls, Bloodborne, Sekiro, Elden Ring, so each time one shots, which change narrative register, and do not succumb to the fashion for numbered suites. So an Elden Ring 2, especially since the game is self-sufficient, seems utopian. Moreover, in the immediate future, Miyazaki is already very busy. He says it himself: “In addition to the titles that I make myself, I participate in the development of several games made by other directors, but I can’t talk regarding them”. So there are several unannounced projects in the works, led by other headliners.
He also adds on this subject: “I think we can show you other colors of From Software”. The goal in the immediate future is simple: change the register a little. It’s true that with Elden Ring, we are at the apotheosis of a genre, a formula, a vision and staying on the same range can be risky. No other projects are known at this time, but if you want a taste of what From Software can produce outside of its comfort zone, check out Uprooted. This PSVR project, which did not necessarily please everyone, is a game that Miyazaki is very fond of, because it proves that the studio can try things without having the age-old structure of very hardcore action RPGs. So we understand better how we ended up a few months ago with stolen images of a potential remake of the Armored Core saga, From Software’s flagship saga before Miyazaki developed his Demon’s Souls which broke the codes internally.
Is the succession already on the right track?
In the Japanese interview that we use as a source here, Miyazaki Admits To Being A Bit Tired Of The Dark Fantasy Setting He Built. He wants a more abstract fantasy, perhaps more delirious, which goes beyond the standards. He says it himself, the collaboration with Martin, the author of Game of Thrones, or even the choice of the open world, made it possible to get From Software out of the niche game. There are plenty of opportunities out there with a whole new audience ready to get on board. And while developing Elden Ring, he admits to having put tons of ideas aside, ideas that didn’t really match the setting of the game or its game design. It is therefore a safe bet that we will find Miyazaki in a few years on a project at the antipodes of an Elden Ring in terms of atmosphere and lore.
Regarding the immediate future of his productions, on the other hand, you should know that one of his projects, which dates back to at least 2018, is coming to the end of its development stage. We should, logically, see the first images very soon. So is this the famous Armored Core remake we were talking regarding earlier? It’s very likely and it’s not sure that everyone will like it…
Concretely, to answer the initial question “what is following Elden Ring?”, there is a long-standing project which is soon to come to fruition. The latter is overseen by Miyazaki, and we hope a little more “abstract” to use his terms. We must not forget “the” projects of third-party teams at From Software, on which the company recruits with a vengeance in order to bring up new internal stars. We are talking here regarding a busy catalog for a studio that urgently corrects its brand image and polishes its masterpiece Elden Ring which, we hope, should receive content in quantity and quality. As you will have understood, From Software is not idle and intends to accelerate the pace, boosted by the global success of its latest game.
