Mass layoffs at FromSoftware won't happen "as long as this company is my responsibility", says Miyazaki

Elden Ring creator and FromSoftware president Hidetaka Miyazaki has said mass layoffs won't happen at the studio "as long as this company is my responsibility".

Speaking to PC Gamer, Miyazaki discussed layoffs across the games industry, in particular the number of studios being closed under Embracer.

"Speaking to myself and this company, I want to say that this is not something I would wish on the staff at FromSoftware in a million years," said Miyazaki. "I'm pretty sure our parent company Kadokawa understands that and shares that view."

Miyazaki compared his view to that of the late Nintendo president Satoru Iwata, who famously took a pay cut to avoid layoffs.

"I think it was the old ex-president of Nintendo, Iwata-san, who said that 'people who are afraid of losing their jobs are afraid of making good things.' I'm paraphrasing that, but I totally share this view," said Miyazaki.

"I think it's true. And I think the people at Kadokawa, our parent company, understand that I hold this view very strongly. While we can't say 100% - we can't say with complete certainty what the future's going to hold for From and Kadokawa - at least as long as this company is my responsibility, that's something I would not let happen. So hopefully our players and our fans can take a little bit of assurance from that."

Elsewhere, in an interview with Gamespot, Miyazaki discussed the studio's evolving identity and players' trust in the studio, describing the next chapter of FromSoftware as coming down to "value and how we create this value".

Of course, the company has new directors and designers that may have different specific ideas to Miyazaki, so he was loath to say too much.

"But if you look at it more broadly, I think it all comes down to creating and providing that value to gamers and being able to do that at 100 percent," he said. "So, making sure the environment is conducive to that type of thinking, and [creating] a path to be able to achieve that is to me what I think as the president and how I feel about the future of the company. So in reality it's a very simple company, I would say.

"For the immediate future, I think how fans have responded to our games, and I daresay the amount of trust they've placed in us as a brand, has provided us with this opportunity to be able to show different types of value that we can add. So I think our job at this point is to not betray that trust and expectation."

That trust in the brand certainly boosted the sales of Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon. "I am very thankful for the fans who have responded and embraced that trust that we've built together," said Miyazaki. "So I understand Armored Core was never a huge franchise adopted by many players, but seeing the current state of the franchise I think makes us know that we're on the right path. And I think the same can be said for me as well as the company as a whole."

Still, on an individual level, "the sense of overcoming challenges and the dark fantasy world setting is something I will always have," said Miyazaki, even if the company evolves.

Indeed, in a previous interview, Miyazaki stated he still hasn't made his "ideal fantasy RPG".

Mass layoffs have impacted much of the games industry, with over 10,000 in 2024 so far. Still, Japanese studios have avoided such measures: Capcom, for instance, announced a salary increase for all employees this year.

Elden Ring DLC Shadow of the Erdtree releases this week on 21st June, across PC, Xbox and PlayStation consoles.