Miyazaki Says FromSoftware Wants to Return to Single-Player Games

FromSoftware president and veteran director Hidetaka Miyazaki has signaled that the studio is eager to get back to single-player games once it ships its two current multiplayer projects, describing the back-to-back nature of those releases as a coincidence rather than a strategic pivot.

Two Multiplayer Games, No Master Plan

Speaking to IGN, Miyazaki addressed what might look like a deliberate shift in direction for FromSoftware. The studio currently has Elden Ring: Nightreign, a cooperative multiplayer spin-off, and The Duskbloods, a Nintendo Switch 2-exclusive PvPvE title, releasing in close succession. According to Eurogamer, Miyazaki was clear that neither project was part of a larger plan to reposition FromSoftware as a multiplayer-focused developer. “It’s not necessarily some big reveal saying that this is the direction we plan to go moving forward,” he said. “We still have a heavy focus on single-player content as well. This is just something that happened to work out the way it did.”

He also noted that Nightreign was directed by Junya Ishizaki, not himself, further underlining that the two projects emerged from separate creative processes that simply converged on the same multiplayer format.

Working Multiplayer Made Him Miss Single-Player

Miyazaki went a step further, suggesting that the experience of building a multiplayer game has reinforced his appetite for solo-focused design. “The more you work on something multiplayer for a long time, if anything, it scratches that itch only to want to make something single-player again,” he told IGN, as reported by Eurogamer. FromSoftware’s last major single-player release was 2022’s Elden Ring, which featured optional co-op and invasions but was built around a solo experience at its core.

As for The Duskbloods specifically, Miyazaki framed it as a creative pressure valve. Ideas that accumulated over years of making single-player games but never quite fit that context eventually found a home in the Switch 2 exclusive. “A lot of those ideas piled up, things that you wish you could have done here and there,” he said.

Nintendo’s Role in The Duskbloods

Video Games Chronicle has covered how The Duskbloods represents unfamiliar territory for Miyazaki, and the Nintendo partnership plays a notable role in shaping the experience. Miyazaki acknowledged that FromSoftware has historically not excelled at onboarding new players, often dropping them into a game and expecting them to work things out. Nintendo’s involvement is helping bridge that gap. “Nintendo is definitely the right partner for better conveying that information in a way that is understandable to the player,” he said, per Eurogamer.

A network test for The Duskbloods is scheduled across five phases running from August 21 through August 24. The full game does not yet have a confirmed release date, though FromSoftware has committed to a 2025 launch.

Sources: Eurogamer, Video Games Chronicle