Elden Ring: what should From Software do next?

First, let’s talk about the immediate future ofelden ring. The studio is not finished with its goose that lays the golden egg. It is certain and even confirmed by Hidetaka Miyazaki, the head of From Software and the project’s producer, who gave an interview to a Japanese magazine. We’re learning that updates will indeed be arriving, as has been the case since release. If you know the studio a little bit, you can imagine that the game is likely to capitalize on its success one or more DLCs. We told you about it in our various episodes of JV LOREdedicated to Elden Ring, but there are completely untapped locations in the game, notably coliseums, scattered across the map that have no story associated with them. This is the opportunity for the studio to create PVP zones or even narrative sequences there.

The story of Elden Ring is very rich and the game begins shortly after the battle as the kingdoms are decimated and emptied. It could therefore be interesting to delve into the past of a specific territory: the Academy of Raya Lucaria during its sack, the castle of Radahn under the attacks of the Malénia forces, … In short, as many intense passages as we see in cinema films or seen in trailers that we’d love to see in future content. And when we see the number of base game buyers who want more after 150 hours of play, pulling the big paid expansion seems like a logical and particularly juicy move for the studio and for publisher Bandai Namco.

A fresh, clean start…

From Software, the studio behind Elden Ring and so many other games over the centuries, is a Japanese company that has its flaws. Hard work, stress at work, low pay… In short, the trifecta of job passions that we’ve learned to denounce in the West, but that’s still part of the inventory in Japan and still finds too little echo in the press. Bad luck, when Elden Ring hits millions in sales in late February/early March 2022, people will start checking out internally about working conditions. According to reviews from the studio’s staff on the Career Connection page, the box gets a 2.6 out of 5 rating. That’s little. So, at first glance, when we work at From Software, we feel stressed, badly paid, and unhappy at work, and given the success, it quickly becomes a chore. Especially since it’s 2022 and redemptions are common this year. For From Software it would therefore be important to dress the bride better…

As the box’s president and main producer, Hidetaka Miyazaki now takes this observation very seriously and claims to have been changing lines for several months. It must be said that after the success of Elden Ring, the box launched a major recruitment campaign everywhere and reassured its candidates by increasing the salaries of young graduates. On the side of group cohesion, we’re now leveraging strong synergies between developers and actively fighting the work exhaustion we commonly refer to as the crunch that accompanies many AAA productions that are a little too eager to get out. FromSoftware is looking for young people for its next projects. The studio needs it and assures the candidates a better salary than before. There are also bonuses and performance bonuses. 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 calms the market: Working at From Software has become cool, and if he says so, it’s not for nothing…

More output, more icons?

To understand what will happen after Elden Ring, one must also understand how the studio and its catalog will function from now on. Right now, it’s a structure that still revolves far too much around Hidetaka Miyazaki, its star producer and CEO. And he is well aware of this problem. It’s the icon of its own studio, which is a risk for the company. However, since he does not want to give up his managerial and creative positions, He now wants to highlight other developers from his teams. Because of this, more and more From Software productions will come out, projects on which it has very little influence. Creative people and their teams are sacred to him, management must not interfere. After all, it’s the same philosophy that made his own career successful, and he wants to reproduce those conditions for other minds to emerge on now more fulfilled teams.

As we’ve seen, 2022 is an active time for the studio: recruitment, raises, and a variety of new star projects to highlight. That should provide the studio with good stability, it’s not for nothing that From Software is the target of takeover rumors. A few weeks ago, analysts were talking about a takeover by Sony, which would be a pretty big move. Therefore, it is important that a box full of potential like From Software is as clean as possible, has a good return and a regular catalogue. So the construction sites are starting, everywhere and on the catalog page, you can imagine that the studio already has plenty of bullets in the barrel…

Elden Ring 2 ? Question?

“Is Elden Ring 2 among the projects already in the works?” It’s a legitimate question when you see the trajectory of a specific Dark Souls that was entitled to 3 Encrypted Episodes. Still, sequels, Miyazaki, aren’t really his thing. It’s more like something we kept asking him to do. His favorite projects are Demon’s Souls, Dark Souls, Bloodborne, Sekiro, Elden Ring, so one shots every time that change narrative register and don’t succumb to numbered suite fashion. So an Elden Ring 2 seems utopian, especially since the game is self-sufficient. In addition, Miyazaki is already very busy in the immediate future. He says it himself: “In addition to the titles I make myself, I participate in the development of several games by other directors, but I can’t talk about them”. So there are several unannounced projects in the works, led by other headliners.

On this subject he adds: “I think we can show you other colors from From Software”. The goal in the immediate future is simple: change the register a bit. It’s true that with Elden Ring we’re at the apotheosis of a genre, a formula, a vision, and staying within the same reach 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 didn’t necessarily appeal to everyone, is a game that Miyazaki likes a lot because it proves that the studio can try things without having the age-old structure of very hard action RPGs. So we better understand how we ended up with stolen pictures from a few months ago potential remake of the Armored Core saga, From Software’s flagship saga before Miyazaki developed his Demon’s Souls that broke the codes internally.

Is the successor already on the right track?

In the Japanese interview that we use as a source here, Miyazaki admits he’s a little tired of the dark fantasy set he’s built. He wants a more abstract fantasy, perhaps more delirious, that goes beyond the standards. As he says himself, working with Martin, the author of Game of Thrones, or even choosing 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 during the development of Elden Ring, he admitted to putting aside many ideas, ideas that didn’t really fit the game’s setting or its game design. It is therefore a safe bet that in a few years we will find Miyazaki in a project at the antipodes of an Elden Ring in terms of atmosphere and lore.

On the other hand, as for the immediate future of his productions, one should know that one of his projects, dating back at least to 2018, is nearing the end of its development phase. Logically, we should see the first pictures very soon. So is this the famous Armored Core remake we talked about earlier? It is very likely and not certain that everyone will like it …

Specifically, to answer the initial question, “What comes after Elden Ring?” There is a long-running project that is set to materialize soon. The latter is being curated by Miyazaki, and we’re hoping it’s a little more “abstract,” to use his terms. Not to forget “the” projects of third-party teams at From Software, for which the company recruits with a vengeance in order to cultivate new internal stars. We’re talking a busy catalog for a studio in dire straits to fix its branding image and polish its masterpiece Elden Ring, which we hope should receive content in quantity and quality. As I’m sure you understood, From Software is not idle and intends to pick up the pace, fueled by the worldwide success of its latest game.