The success of Elden Ring can’t be understated. It’s a colossal hit for publisher Bandai Namco and sees developer FromSoftware completely eclipse its previous work and make one of the best RPG games on the market. So, what will Bandai Namco want to bring to the West from Japan next? Well, apparently the company has big plans.
Conversations about the success of open-world game Elden Ring and Bandai Namco’s desire to break further into the West came from a new interview with Bandai Namco Europe CEO Arnaud Muller, who says:
“Bandai Namco Europe is focused on developing its own IPs and increasing the weight of the portfolio in the West within the Bandai Namco Group, but there is so much great content coming from Japan that we’re very excited for the years to come, and Elden Ring, I’m tempted to say, is just the beginning of that,” Muller says in his interview with GamesIndustry.biz.
Muller adds that FromSoftware’s work on Elden Ring surpassed both Bandai Namco’s expectations and seemingly those of the fans as well, as the publisher anticipated the game’s success, but not to the tune of over 16 million copies sold in less than a year.
“We’re very proud of the quality of the game, we’re very happy with the relationship with FromSoftware. We worked with FromSoftware on the Dark Souls series, but Elden Ring is taking this genre to a new level… The open world, the accessibility of the game, the depth, it clearly has surpassed our expectations and also fans’ expectations.”
Even outside the realm of fantasy games, Elden Ring has been huge, and Bandai Namco clearly wants to make sure that any follow up games from Japan tap into the same global success. It should also be noted that while Bandai Namco published Elden Ring across the globe, developer FromSoftware was in charge of publishing it in Japan.
If you need some help when exploring The Lands Between don’t worry, as we have a number of guides to help you out, like the best Elden Ring builds, an Elden Ring all boss list, and a look at the best Elden Ring classes, too.