You might think that after putting out a massive magnum opus like Elden Ring (opens in new tab), FromSoftware might be inclined to take a year or two (or three) off. But apparently not, because Elden Ring director Hidetaka Miyazaki recently told Japanese site 4Gamer (opens in new tab) (via Gematsu (opens in new tab)) that the studio’s next game is in the “final stages” of development.
The statement came in response to a question about a 2018 interview (opens in new tab) in which Miyazaki said that two of the “3.5” games the studio was working on were still unannounced—Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice being the third, while the PSVR exclusive Déraciné accounted for the 0.5 game. One of the unannounced games was Elden Ring, while the other remains unannounced—but may see the light of day soon.
“Development is currently in the final stages,” Miyazaki said.
While he offered no clues as to what that game might be, one persistent rumor is that FromSoft is working on a new Armored Core (opens in new tab) game. In January, a purported consumer survey indicated that Miyazaki is heading up a new entry in the series, while subsequently leaked screens suggested that development was pretty far along.
Apart from that project, whatever it is, Miyazaki has apparently already begun work on his next game, and is also thinking even further down the road: Over the “medium to long term,” he said he’d “like to work on a more abstract fantasy than anything we’ve done in the past,” which is kind of a wild thing to imagine given the dreamlike journey through Heaven and Hell that is Elden Ring.
It’s hard to argue with the rationale, though: Miyakazi explained that during the development of FromSoft’s previous games, including Elden Ring, all kinds of interesting “ideas and images” were left on the cutting-room floor because they just weren’t suitable for the project currently at hand, and he’d like to do something with them.
Miyazaki isn’t the only one with things going on at FromSoftware: “We’re developing several titles by directors other than myself in addition to the titles that I’m directing, but we’re not at the stage where I can share any details yet,” he said. And, happily, he also reassured Elden Ring fans that updates will continue to roll—although I’m sorry to say (not really, though (opens in new tab)) that there’s still no sign of any DLC or expansion.
