Prolific Game Director Hidetaka Miyazaki has laid out preliminary plans for a future beyond the Souls franchise, after revealing that work is already underway on a brand new IP.
Miyazaki, who recently outlined the post-launch support for RPG sequel Dark Souls III, revealed that “there is absolutely no plan right now for any sequels, spin-offs, or tie-ins” during an interview with Taiwanese outlet GNN Gamer (via NeoGAF).
Even before Dark Souls III crept out of the shadows, the From Software developer long made it clear that, three games in and following PS4 offshoot Bloodborne, he’s ready to move on from the beloved Souls series. Here, he noted that while Dark Souls remains a fixture of From Software’s software roster – the latest became the fastest-selling title in publisher Bandai Namco America’s history – Miyazaki himself is effectively finished with the series.
“If a From Software developer come to me five years from now and begged, ‘please let me make another Dark Souls,’ then I will not rule out the possibility to let my subordinates start a new project,” he explained. (It wouldn’t be the first time, of course; Miyazaki did not lead Dark Souls 2.) “What is certain for now is, to me personally Dark Souls is over.”
But don’t expect that aforementioned new IP to spin out the Souls formula in the vein of Bloodborne, after the developer cautioned that “rather than make another sequel, I think it’s time we take a step to a new direction. Development of a new IP has already begun.”
Dark Souls III arrived earlier this month across PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC. Expect the first of two mainline expansions to debut before the year’s end, before the second and final slice of DLC seemingly brings an end to From Software’s Souls output for the time being.
