Dark Souls creator on future of franchise and focusing on fan needs

Dark Souls II is busy completing its summoning ritual over at developer From Software, but among the few details we know about it is the bequeathing of the director's crown from series creator Hidetaka Miyazaki to fellow Fromers Tomohiro Shibuya and Yui Tanimura.

Dark Souls II is busy completing its summoning ritual over at developer From Software, but among the few details we know about it is the bequeathing of the director's crown from series creator Hidetaka Miyazaki to fellow Fromers Tomohiro Shibuya and Yui Tanimura. Speaking to Edge, Miyazaki said he feels confident of the new leadership so long as delivering what gamers want from the death-dealing RPG franchise takes priority.

"It's true that I'm sad about not being involved in the development of Dark Souls II, because I've worked on Demon's Souls and Dark Souls' development for the past five years," Miyazaki said. "I really love those two titles; however, maybe this is the time to have new inspiration, so I'm fine about that. I'm looking forward to playing Dark Souls II not as part of the development team but with a little bit of distance. I [wouldn't] really care for Dark Souls VIII to come out. That's not the point. It's more, 'What do the fans want?' We want to stay true to what they expect.”

From Software's biggest challenge for Dark Souls II lies in refining the attractive formula of the series' steep challenge curve with more accessibility. Shibuya envisions a " more straightforward and understandable" sequel to accomplish this, but with Miyazaki's guiding hand no longer directly shaping content, we're sure to see some significant differences in design.

Check out the rest of Edge's interview with Miyazaki here.