Elden Ring’s success in the industry was nothing short of glorious. Despite being released in 2022, the title is still very relevant in 2024 and is a testament to FromSoftware’s competence and ability to craft experiences that are second to none.
The title was designed to cater to a specific subset of gamers, but that might be about to change as rumors of Tencent reportedly releasing Elden Ring on mobile are doing the rounds on social media. Apart from being shocking for fans, this rumor, if legitimate, also goes against the studio’s philosophy of making games that aren’t everyone’s cup of tea.
Elden Ring’s Makers Were Content With Their Niche Audience in the Past
When Bloodborne, another title from the studio incredibly well-received by critics and fans alike, was released in 2015, El País, the Spanish Newspaper, visited the FromSoftware studio in Tokyo, Japan. The article highlighted Japan’s diminishing share of the video game economy from 2002 to 2012, and the country’s record-breaking year in 2014 due to popular mobile video games.
However, in the grand scheme, Bloodborne’s success was also hailed as a promising statistic for Japan’s presence in the video game industry. On this, Masaaki Yamagiwa, Bloodborne’s producer, stated:
We don’t want to do plays on the subway. We believe there is still an audience that wants to live a quieter and deeper type of experience from its couch. For them, we make our games…
It is worth noting that if there are rumors of Tencent working on an actual Elden Ring port for mobile, it will go directly against the statement made by Yamagiwa-san above. All of this shows how huge studio plans are also subject to change.
Elden Ring Coming to Mobile: The Good and the Bad
While many gamers will be happy to experience the title differently, if the game is a port identical to its console and PC versions, the title coming to PC is probably part of an elaborate plan.
While it is true that no interest and passion should be gatekept based on the platform, there will most likely be differences in quality between the authentic gameplay experience on PC and Console and its mobile port.
If Elden Ring on mobile is marketed as a free-to-play game with in-app purchases and is later not received well, it will go down as one of the rare moments where FromSoftware prioritizes profits over quality.
However, nothing concrete can be stated until further details about the title are available; if the game is confirmed for mobile, it might affect the gamer’s perception of FromSoftware, for better or worse.
What do you think of this? Would you want to play as the Tarnished on the go on your mobile phones? Or should it be an experience confined to PCs and consoles? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
