How come FromSoftware hasn’t missed a beat for over ten years now and after numerous games published? The secret is to never take success for granted, according to the studio boss.
FromSoftware is currently one of the most popular and famous studios in the gaming scene. After all, after having practically created a subgenre with souls-like and creating highly appreciated titles such as the Dark Souls trilogy, Bloodborne and more, the team achieved unparalleled success with Elden Ring , the icing on the cake of a long trail of excellent results that has been going on for over ten years, all at a rather tight pace of development and publication. What is the secret of this team?
According to Hidetaka Miyazaki, it is to never start from the assumption that something will be successful automatically because it has already been in the past, a philosophy that has allowed the team to create increasingly better games and make thoughtful decisions. This, in summary, is what the boss of FromSoftware reported in an interview with The Guardian before the launch of Shadow of the Erdtree, the gigantic expansion of Elden Ring.
Having “wiggle room to fail” helps you improve
“Elden Ring has competed in a league of its own, in terms of success and critical acclaim, but what we try to do as a company is to never assume that this will happen again with our future games,” Miyazaki said.
“No decision is based on the assumption that if we succeeded once, it will happen again. This rather conservative prediction gives us wiggle room to fail , and this in turn translates into better games and better decisions . One way or another in the other, I believe that the hypothesis of not making another success, this conservative perspective, is fueling and helping the way we make games.”
Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree has been available in stores around the world for a few days. If you haven’t done so yet, we suggest you read our review of the DLC , while if you have already entered the Kingdom of Shadows, you might find our complete solution useful .