When Hidetaka Miyazaki flew to Los Angeles for this year's Summer Game Fest, his very presence became a news story. Some speculated that Miyazaki was there to reveal a new game (though he was really just there to promote Shadow of the Erdtree), but it was also a story simply because it mattered to people. A selfie taken in the hotel got more than a million views on Twitter. Even though his games have been popular for more than a decade at this point, that sort of fame is new for the Dark Souls creator.
Before he got people excited by flying to Los Angeles for the weekend, I spoke with Miyazaki for PC Gamer's cover story on Shadow of the Erdtree, digging into the significance of this expansion for both FromSoftware and him as a person. How had Elden Ring's success—25 million sales and counting—changed his life?
Unfortunately Miyazaki didn't divulge whether he'd spent his share of the spoils on a Honda Civic. But he did reflect on the level of fame that comes with such a successful game.
"In terms of how my own worldview and world has changed, I think it's fair to say I get recognized when out and about quite a bit more than before," he said. "Particularly from people from overseas. They'll just come up to me and say hello. It gives me this feeling I didn't have before, of people enjoying and playing these games.
I just got to my hotel and met one of my gaming idols in Miyazaki. I can go home now. #EldenRing #Xbox Excuse the ridiculous smile - I was excited. pic.twitter.com/B3loCfzmreJune 7, 2024
"And also it keeps me on my best behavior as well, when I know people know who I am."
In an interview with CNET at Summer Game Fest, Miyazaki spoke about this change in his life a bit more—though he also downplayed his fame, saying "it's not like paparazzi was waiting for me at the airport."
"I know very well what it's like to not even be noticed or have no one pay attention to you, so this 180 degrees of being noticed, I know how much value there is there innately," he said. "So of course that makes me really happy that we as a company and a team have achieved that level of success and celebrity."
When we spoke he also brought the topic back to FromSoftware and the developers who created Elden Ring alongside him.
"I think more than anything, it showed me what the people at this company are capable of. When we set out to create a game of that scope and scale, we really rose to that challenge. Obviously I'm not making these things by myself. I have a lot of staff here who grew and developed with the game, and I'm eternally grateful for them. In terms of the staff and directors that produced, they're now going to go on to create new and better things. I'm really looking forward to seeing what's next for FromSoftware, personally. I think Elden Ring was a big step in accomplishing that."
Check out more of our coverage of Elden Ring's expansion, including our Shadow of the Erdtree review, how to get ready for the DLC, and Miyazaki's comments on seamless co-op, players using guides and why he's still in the process of making his ideal fantasy RPG.
