Summary
While the distant outlook forElden Ringis unclear, its immediate future looks bright. FromSoftware’s modern RPG classic has finally announced the date of its Shadow of the Erdtree DLC, and FromSoftware also recently purchased full ownership of theElden RingIP from international publisher Bandai Namco. This is an unusual move for FromSoftware, but if it could only secure one franchise,Elden Ringis the obvious choice. As the most lucrative game in FromSoftware’s library, giving its creators more control overElden Ringmedia is a sensible plan.
That is, assuming there will be any moreElden Ringmedia. FromSoftware CEO Hidetaka Miyazaki, who also directedElden Ring, has made his preference for pursuing new creative endeavors over sequels clear, and that has been evident in FromSoftware’s varied output. OnlyDark Soulshas received consistent sequels during the past decade, withArmored Corehaving just returned from its decade-long hiatus, and four other new IPs being created in the meantime:Bloodborne,Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice,Deracine, andElden Ring. The mixed publishers behind those games may explain why FromSoftware decided to acquireElden Ring, and why the fantasy franchise is still better off in its hands than anyone else’s.
FromSoftware Often Can’t Revisit Its Universes When Others Are Involved
Despite how much fans want to see sequels to FromSoftware’s games, that is not always FromSoftware’s choice to make. The company has always been a relatively small game developer, even after gaining enough staff to pursue multiple concurrent projects. Plenty of publishers have done business with FromSoftware over the years, whether to publish games outside of Japan or to fund them in the first place, often resulting in joint ownership deals. Bandai Namco’s stake in publishingDark Soulsallegedly influenced it to build a franchise, but even without Bandai’s presence,Elden Ringmay still have better chances of continuing under FromSoftware alone.
Bloodborne and Sekiro’s Ownership Tells Cautionary Tales
The best evidence of this lies in FromSoftware’s other recent IPs.Bloodborne, likeDark Souls’ predecessorDemon’s Souls, is a PlayStation exclusive published by Sony. Judging by the PS5-exclusiveDemon’s Soulsremake from Bluepoint Games, it can be assumed that Sony has dominant control over both IPs. Fans have been asking for a remaster for years, but unlessrumors of aBloodborneremakeor a movie hold water, there’s no sign of anything coming. Even fewer people are holding their breath for Activision to do anything more withSekiro: Shadows Die Twice. Combining how sparseSekiro’s post-launch updates were with Activision’s acquisition by Microsoft, it doesn’t look like it has much of a future.
There’s More FromSoftware Can Do With Elden Ring
FromSoftware owningElden Ringcould remove some external pressure tomake anElden Ringsequel, but it also removes external barriers to FromSoftware doing more with the franchise. Teases ofElden Ringmultimedia projects have existed for a while now, and even if those came from Bandai Namco’s side, FromSoftware could still license out the IP if it deems that worthwhile. It would be strange to purchase full ownership of a valuable name likeElden Ringand do nothing with it, so fans shouldn’t lose hope for moreElden Ringfollowing Shadow of the Erdtree.
Looking at past FromSoftware series’,Elden Ringdoes not need to branch into multimedia or direct sequels to become a series itself. FromSoftware designs its games to stand on their own merits, even when they are direct narrative sequels like:
Akin toKing’s Field 4or theShadow TowerandShadow Tower: Abyssduo,anotherElden Ringgame could be thematically relatedto its predecessor instead of narratively. Regardless of what FromSoftware decides, the developer shouldn’t need any other publishers' permission to do more withElden Ring.
