Hidetaka Miyazaki is not stopping at open-world games after Elden Ring, promising more innovation, something that we already see with Nightreign.
Starting from his first-ever Armored Core title in 2004, Hidetaka Miyazaki has been the master of world-building. Interestingly though, it took over 18 years for him to make his first open-world title, which just so happened to be 2022’s Elden Ring, the game that took FromSoftware to heights the studio had never seen before.
Hidetaka Miyazaki doesn’t plan on pulling breaks on innovation anytime soon | The Game Awards
Stepping into a territory they had never been in before was a risky move for the studio, but it all worked out in the end. However, despite a monumental success, director Hidetaka Miyazaki is seemingly committed to innovation rather than being stuck in one place.
Hidetaka Miyazaki to keep innovating after the success of Elden Ring
Elden Ring is the most successful title by the studio yet | FromSoftware
As seen in the past, FromSoftware really does have a habit of taking one formula and using it forever. This is how the whole Soulsborne genre came to be, with Elden Ring partially following the same code of conduct as well. Nonetheless, the 2022 GOTY winner also brought something new for fans to enjoy, that being the vast open world of The Lands Between.
But it would be a mistake to assume that the game’s success would now keep the studio forever locked into open-world games. Talking about his future plans, Hidetaka Miyazaki revealed the following in an interview via GameSpot.
I wouldn’t necessarily say that open world is going to become the new base or foundation or standard of the company. As I kind of hinted in earlier responses, 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.
With Miyazaki himself admitting that the studio is not dictated by trends but rather by their want to keep innovating, it leaves open-world titles as just one avenue they stopped at with Elden Ring, with no reason to assume they won’t continue to explore new ones.
Breaking traditions: What will be FromSoftware’s next move
Main Cover for the upcoming Elden Ring Nightreign | FromSoftware
With Elden Ring Nighreign coming right up, we already see the director’s statement coming to life. The upcoming title, scheduled to release on 30th May, is a co-op title set to be enjoyed solo or in a group of three where players would explore a new version of The Lands Between.
As the director of the game, Junya Ishizaki has said, Elden Ring Nightreign is the perfect ‘opportunity’ to make the studio break out of its traditional Souls formula. It might just change forever how FromSoftware, as a game development studio, approaches its up-and-coming titles in the future.
Hidetaka Miyazaki also has the perfect opportunity to bring his old franchises back from the dead, including Bloodborne and Armored Core, albeit in different colors, given that the studio’s motto recently has been to keep innovating and introducing something new for gamers to experience.
