Weird as it sounds, Tetris 99 actually posed a decent amount of threat to the battle royale crown of PUBG and Fortnite, but in the future, we could see a new competitor stepping into this massively popular video game genre.
Revered developer Hidetaka Miyazaki, President of Dark Souls and Bloodborne creator From Software, has said that the studio is keenly interested in the battle royale genre as well as the 'live service' games, such as Anthem or Destiny, that are dominating the industry at the moment.
So, would From Software, infamous for making insanely difficult single-player games with intricately designed levels, be jumping into the fray?
Miyazaki says that the possibility is always there. He says that these kinds of games are undoubtedly very entertaining, and he and the rest of the team would “love to take a crack at them some day." However, he also said that if they do make such a game, it will probably be different from what we see on the market right now.
That is to be expected from From Soft. Any battle royale from this studio would follow a completely different direction compared to shooters such as PUBG, Fortnite, or Apex Legends. Likewise, a live-service multiplayer RPG, maybe based on the world of Dark Souls or Bloodborne, would certainly be something the developer could look into.
That said, Miyazaki also emphasized that single-player games, such as their upcoming Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, are still an indispensable part of the video game industry and are crucial to its health in the long run. And we are still seeing a lot of these games nowadays. Devil May Cry 5 launches today, for example, and while the game does have some online elements, it remains a very single-player-focused experience. Last year we also had tons of major titles such as Spider-Man or God of War, both of which have sold for over 9 million copies.
The industry does need this kind of diversity. According to Miyazaki, it is what keeps everybody going.