While From Software fans are eagerly anticipating news of Elden Ring, the team's next game announced last year, Xbox's Phil Spencer has already played quite a bit of it, confirming it is clearly the most ambitious From Software game yet.
Speaking with GameSpot, Phil Spencer confirmed that the Elden Ring mechanics, setting, and working with another creator in terms of story make it Hidetaka Miyazaki's most ambitious game ever. While he could not add more, Phil Spencer stressed how Elden Ring is Miyazaki "expanding his horizons," so we should be in for something unlike anything From Software put out so far.
As somebody who's played all of Miyazaki's games over at least the last decade, this is clearly the most ambitious game that he's done. I mean, I love his games, but seeing some of the gameplay mechanics stuff that he's tackling, he and the team are tackling this time, of the setting, working with another creator in terms of story. I love it.
It has been some time since we last heard anything about Elden Ring. Back in September, a statement from Hidetaka Miyazaki revealed some information on the game's open-world and themes, which will not be too different from those seen in George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire,
[Sayawaka]. ELDEN RING has staff from the foreign drama "Game of Thrones" participating in development and the game has got a sort of "open-worlded-ness" to it with wide open areas where you can ride your horse and things, it seems there are scenes like that in the game so, well,... There's a feeling of a world here, I suppose, right?
[Tokita] True, well, this is one that I personally like and I think it's a very painful fantasy drama... There's pain there and from a human perspective there are themes of racism, politics, citizenship, and so on (...) So this is a work that is psychologically quote painful in a lot of ways and making a game with Miyazaki which such a huge world view.. on a world-level, everyone's looking forward to it so...
[Sayawaka]. (...) The actions of the characters... Really make you think "yeah, humans are like that" it's just tremendous (..) and when you have history and myth, from a human perspective you can make a very grand story out of that. I don't want to say too much but I'm certainly excited.
Elden Ring is currently in development for PC and consoles. A release window has yet to be confirmed.