Beloved FromSoftware games like Elden Ring and Bloodborne almost didn’t exist. That is unless someone at the company hadn’t given Hidetaka Miyazaki a chance to save a dying project on a whim.
Yes, Miyazaki’s journey to becoming the mastermind behind FromSoftware’s hit titles is marked by a series of fortunate events and daring decisions. Thankfully, it all paid off, and we now have the immaculate Soulslike genre many have a love-hate relationship with.
How Hidetaka Miyazaki’s Sliding Doors Moment Eventually Lead to Elden Ring
In a 2015 interview with The Guardian, Miyazaki revealed how a career change and a failing project led to the birth of a groundbreaking gaming genre.
Miyazaki’s path to FromSoftware was unconventional. At 29, deemed too old for graduate positions and lacking experience elsewhere, he found refuge at the studio. He worked as a coder on the Armored Core series. However, it was an underperforming project that would change the trajectory of his career.
At the time, Demon’s Souls was a mess. “The project had problems and the team had been unable to create a compelling prototype,” explained Hidetaka Miyazaki.
He saw potential in the fantasy-action role-playing game concept and recognized a golden opportunity to reshape the game to his vision, free from expectations. The project was already in terrible shape—it couldn’t have gotten any worse, right?
Assigned to the project, Miyazaki held nothing back with the project. He overhauled virtually every aspect of Demon’s Souls, injecting it with his creative vision and design philosophy.
The game’s initial launch in Japan was met with indifference; sales weren’t so good, and the game received a lukewarm reception at the Tokyo Game Show.
As stubborn as its players, Demon’s Souls refused to fade into obscurity. Its punishing difficulty and unique gameplay mechanics were fresh, and there weren’t any other games like it at the time.
The game slowly became a hit across the world. This success translated into the Dark Souls series, Bloodborne, and eventually Elden Ring. All thanks to FromSoftware assigning Miyazaki to a failing project as a final Hail Mary.
What’s Next for Miyazaki?
Are we heading toward an Elden Ring sequel? Not exactly. There are currently no plans for it, and we haven’t even reached the release of the DLC yet.
Hidetaka Miyazaki already mentioned a long time ago that DS3 would be the final game in the series, so that’s out of the question.
As if it’s not brought up enough, I’m bringing it up again. Where is Bloodborne 2? The Bloodborne Remake? A 60FPS patch!?
Well, it’s not up to Miyazaki to decide, as Sony holds the IP hostage. But with news of a movie adaptation floating around, the idea of new Bloodborne content riding on the movie’s coattails isn’t totally out of the realm of possibility.
What do you think Miyazaki’s next plans are? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!
