Hidetaka Miyazaki is an indisputable legend in the gaming community, renowned for his masterful creations like Dark Souls and Bloodborne. He’s given countless interviews over the years, allowing us to look into his approach to the games, FromSoftware’s direction, the themes behind his games, and a lot more interesting information.
In a 2016 interview, we got a deep dive into Miyazaki’s forward-thinking mindset and hinted at the possibility of other directors taking over a beloved series of his.
Hidetaka Miyazaki is Open to Passing the Souls Series to Other People
During the 2016 Kotaku interview, Miyazaki’s words revealed a surprising openness to the idea of others from the FromSoftware team taking the helm for future Dark Souls installments.
Despite initially framing Dark Souls 3 as the last chapter of the series, Miyazaki’s stance reflected something else. He acknowledged the passionate fanbase and recognized the potential to expand on the DS universe, but not through himself.
If someone other than myself, like another staff member, wants to make a Dark Souls, then I don’t want to deny others from making future installments.
MIyazaki also spoke out about how many games had come out that were inspired by the Souls series. He humbly dismissed the idea that he had pioneered the ‘Soulslike‘ genre. “I don’t really think that way,” Miyazaki remarked. He continued:
I don’t think how we’ve created a new genre. There were other developers who probably wanted to make games like this. If I’ve created the environment for those games to be released, then I’m honored.
The FromSoftware boss also commented on the use of Souls mechanics in other games. His reply was quite interesting.
He explained that each of these games put its own twist on the Souls game mechanics. This intrigued his team, and they would research these changes to better understand them and possibly learn something for their own game. Remaining the humble king that he is, he said he “never thought about other games mimicking ours.”
How Miyazaki Embraces Diversity and Creative Variation
The interview also shed light on FromSoftware’s future projects that go beyond the dark fantasy genre.
Miyazaki specifically hinted at the development of unconventional titles, including one described as “a little weird.” He later clarified that “weird” wasn’t aimed just at the game’s content but also its genre.
He exclaimed that he wanted to see greater variation in FromSoftware’s portfolio, citing mech games like Armored Core and Asian-style titles like Tenchu or Otogi: Myth of Demons as examples of potential directions.
Miyazaki also said he wanted to create a “warm” game reminiscent of Popolocrois or ICO. Do you think he’s accomplished this mission in Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, Armored Core 6, or Elden Ring? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
