FromSoftware Clarifies Hidetaka Miyazaki's Role in Armored Core 6

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From Software

Hidetaka Miyazaki has been the guiding force behind some of FromSoftware's biggest successes during his time at the developer, though it appears he will not have the same level of involvement for Armored Core 6's development. Mizyazaki's game director credits with the studio include titles such as Demon's Souls, Dark Souls, Bloodborne, Sekiro, and Elden Ring, all of which have been critical and commercial success for the Japanese studio. He has two Armored Core games to his name, as well, and he will have some involvement in the latest game though in a much smaller capacity.

Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon is the latest in FromSoftware's long-running series and the first game in the series since 2013's Armored Core: Verdict Day. The game will take place on Rubicon, a planet nearly destroyed by a mysterious energy source humanity discovered and attempted to mine before Rubicon was engulfed by fire. Armored Core 6 picks up roughly 50 years after this cataclysmic event and sees players take the role of an Armored Core mech pilot taking jobs across Rubicon for the corporations attempting to re-open mining operations and the resistance groups trying to stop them.

Miyazaki elaborated on his involvement in the game during an interview with IGN, saying it will be the first game since 2014's Dark Souls 2 he will not be the overall director on. He instead served as the initial game director which saw him work "with several other people on those early stages of the project, including engineers, designers, and other people at the director level" and "production level." Miyazaki elaborated the role allowed him and the team to "define the early concept of the game" before handing the reigns off to Masaru Yamamura to serve as the overall director going forward.

While Armored Cored 6 will be Yamamura's first game serving as director, his credits on FromSoftware titles dates back to 2011's Dark Souls as a map/event planner. He served a similar role for the Dark Souls: Prepare to Die edition before taking on more responsibility as a game designer on Bloodborne, a gameplay designer on Dark Souls 3, and a level designer on Dark Souls Remastered. Yamamura's most prominent credit to date, though, was on 2019's Sekiro which saw him serve as the lead game designer.

As mentioned above, Miyazaki taking a smaller role for Armored Core 6 is notable change of pace after serving as the game director for Bloodborne, Dark Souls 3, Sekiro, and Elden Ring. It could be argued the studio has something else in the works which will require his full attention, whether it be a possible Elden Ring sequel or another brand-new project. It remains to be seen how Yamamura will handle serving as Armored Core 6's director, but some players could take some solace in the fact he worked under Miyazaki for well over a decade.