Hidetaka Miyazaki says he’s trying not to get distracted by Elden Ring’s success

Elden Ring and Dark Souls director Hidetaka Miyazaki has said he’s trying not to get distracted by the huge success of his latest title, which picked up two awards on Friday.

The Bandai Namco RPG, which has sold over 17 million copies and is the highest-rated new game of the year, received a pair of PlayStation Partner Awards today, including the Grand Award (for the best-selling game developed in Asia) and the Users’ Choice award.

Reacting to the wins in an interview with Famitsu, Miyazaki said he was especially honoured by the Users’ Choice award, due to the fact it’s chosen directly by players.

The publication asked Miyazaki why he believed Elden Ring had been such a commercial and critical success, to which he replied that he wasn’t trying to pay too much attention to the reasons why, in case it distracted him from his goal of creating more games unique to developer FromSoftware‘s style.

“I’m at a loss when people ask me why [it’s been so successful], but my feeling is that I don’t intend to change the way I’ve been making things in the future,” he said. “I try not to think about it too much, because it could become a distraction when I make the next project. However, I am very grateful and feel honoured.”

The director said he had the same opinion when it came to user feedback. “Personally, I try not to look directly at user feedback,” he said.

“That’s because I can’t listen to all the users’ opinions. I’m afraid that if I do, the voices and opinions I happen to hear will have a strong influence on my future decisions, so I’m careful not to put other opinions directly into my own mind.

“However, when I do look at the reactions, there are many people who first played the same genre (Demon’s Souls, Dark Souls series, etc.) with Elden Ring. It makes me nostalgic when I hear them.

“I remember feeling really happy when I experienced Demon’s Souls for the first time. It’s an exciting title to discover, and we’ve had an increase in new users. I was personally happy to hear that kind of feedback.”

Miyazaki went on to say that he doesn’t feel FromSoftware’s status has changed due to Elden Ring’s success and that it simply continues to make the games it wants to create.

However, he said he believes that the reputation earned by selling more than 17 million copies of Elden Ring “will back us up” in future and allow it to continue making the games it wants to create.

Further reading

Elden Ring update files provide further evidence of arena-based expansion

DLC plans for Elden Ring have yet to be announced

Elden Ring is nominated for seven prizes at this month’s The Game Awards, including the coveted Game of the Year award.

Miyazaki claimed this summer that the next From Software game is nearing the end of development. The studio is understood to have multiple games in the works, one of which appears to be an Armored Core sequel.