Game news Don’t talk to him about dismissal! Elden Ring creator and FromSoftware boss will never let this happen as long as he’s at the helm of the studio
Published on 06/22/2024 at 9:00 p.m.
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In a context where the big players in the industry are laying off workers with all their might, Hidetaka Miyazaki, father of Elden Ring and boss of FromSotware, wants to be reassuring about the future of his company!
In terms of layoffs, 2024 is a real butchery… Since the start of the year, around the world, more than 10,000 employees in the video game industry have been laid offas the site indicates GameIndustryLayoffs. A “cleansing” which took place almost everywhere, from medium-sized companies to real giants, while the results of the latter were sometimes record-breaking. At the start of the year, Microsoft (Xbox) for example let go of 1,900 people, closing talented studios such as Arkane Austin (Prey) or Tango Gameworks (The Evil Within | Hi-Fi-Rush). The Swedish colossus Embracer has also cracked a little more, following a 2 billion agreement which did not come to fruition in 2023. Often, the companies concerned have invested more than reason in the JV after the runaway COVID, without success for some. The time has therefore come for restructuring.
A reassuring Miyazaki
It is in this context (and while all eyes are on the Elden Ring DLC) that Hidetaka Miyazaki, president of FromSoftware, answered questions from PCGamer. And when it comes to layoffs, the man appears inflexible: “While we can’t say 100% what the future holds, as long as this company is under my care, it’s something I wouldn’t let happen” he says. Miyazaki also says he is “convinced” that the studio’s parent company, the Kadokawa company, understands and shares this opinion… FromSoftware is not an independent studio and the creator therefore does not completely have control over a possible future restructuring.
Iwata-san’s wise words
In the same article, Miyazaki continues: “I think it was the former president of Nintendo, Iwata-san, who said that people who are afraid of losing their jobs are afraid of doing good things (.. .) I completely share this point of view”. A vision of things, perhaps, shared across the whole of Japan : When looking at the GameIndustryLayoffs list, there appears to be no Japanese company pushing the world towards release in 2024, with the notable exception of SEGA.
