Highlights

  • Armored Core 6 triumphantly returns with in-depth machine building and tough-but-fair piloting, topping 2.8 million sales worldwide by October 2023.
  • The game's writing and characterization, along with an all-star cast of characters, set a high bar, but future DLC may introduce a mostly-new roster.
  • FromSoftware faces the challenge of matching the density of quality characters in AC6 in any potential expansion, focusing on gameplay strengths.

Thanks to Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon, FromSoftware’s Armored Core franchise has triumphantly returned. As one of the figureheads of the niche mecha genre, Armored Core offers in-depth machine building and tough-but-fair piloting that still holds strong even with the new systems Armored Core 6 is trying out, and the results speak for themselves. By October 2023, AC6 had topped 2.8 million sales worldwide, cleanly placing it as the best-selling Armored Core game and probably one of the best-performing mech titles ever. It may have been gone for a decade, but chances are high that Armored Core is back for good.

What the series’ future will be is still unknown, and FromSoftware hasn't dropped any hints about it yet. There have been a couple updates to AC6 that added new parts and PvP multiplayer elements, but even datamining for potential DLC assets has yielded small returns. Past generations of Armored Core were all made up of a numbered entry followed by at least one other game, which Armored Core 6 could simulate with a paid expansion. However, if FromSoftware chooses to keep Armored Core’s sixth generation around, it may struggle to top one of AC6’s most surprising strengths.

Armored Core 6 Fires of Rubicon fight promo screenshot with white series logo
Related
FromSoftware Teases Future Armored Core Games

FromSoftware boss reflects on the success of Armored Core 6 and teases future entries in the long-running series of mecha games.

Armored Core 6 Includes Writing and Characterization In Its Arsenal

Although top-tier robot customization and combat is always Armored Core’s priority, it still finds time to tell a good story. Mission briefings, part descriptions, dialogue, and even subtle faction systems often come together to build a dystopian future world where unchecked corporations, mercenaries, and all-powerful AI reign. Armored Core 6 is no different from its predecessors in this respect, even as one of the rare entries that takes the action to a different planet than Earth. However, it wouldn't have succeeded as much as it did without an unusually compelling cast, even by FromSoftware standards.

Armored Core 6 Has An All-Star Cast

That's not to say FromSoftware doesn't routinely introduce compelling rosters, but it feels like Armored Core 6 is tapping into something special. Rusty alone has prompted mass fan delight that harkens back to Dark Souls’ Solaire, but he isn't the only highlight. Handler Walter and Ayre serve as AC6’s two contrasting, yet sympathetic navigators, some of the longer-lasting pilots like Carla, Iguazu, Michigan stand out, and others like Rummy and the Branch trio also make strong impressions despite no one ever showing their face. Players will most likely have a good grasp on their fellow pilots’ personas by the end of the game, which makes needing to pick sides all the more painful.

Armored Core 6 Sets A High Bar For Characters

No one could have expected such likable and sympathetic characters to appear en masse in an Armored Core game, but they did so for Fires of Rubicon. Unfortunately, this is likely their last appearance, as Armored Core games set in the same generation rarely share characters, and AC6 DLC patterned after that will likely follow suit. Even a mission pack set during the game will likely need to distance itself from the main plot, as Armored Core 6’s branching paths mean there are too many variables like alliances, deaths, and parts accessible to the player that could get in the way.

Matching Armored Core 6’s Characters In DLC Isn't Likely

Regardless of what a hypothetical Armored Core 6 expansion is, FromSoftware will probably have to come up with a mostly-new cast for it. FromSoftware’s writing abilities aren't in question, but the very format of DLC will limit what it can do. Topping what AC6 already has will be rough enough, but even a new campaign that crosses the 10-hour mark will struggle to match the density of quality characters in the base game. Adopting a simpler story and focusing on Armored Core’s gameplay strengths like past side entries may be necessary, leaving the legacy of Armored Core 6’s characters to be challenged another day.