FromSoftware's boss doesn't talk much about his personal life, but he now gets recognized in public, which Miyazaki says 'keeps me on my best behavior'

Hidetaka Miyazaki
(Image credit: Future)

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.

"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

TOPICS
Wes Fenlon
Senior Editor

Wes has been covering games and hardware for more than 10 years, first at tech sites like The Wirecutter and Tested before joining the PC Gamer team in 2014. Wes plays a little bit of everything, but he'll always jump at the chance to cover emulation and Japanese games.

When he's not obsessively optimizing and re-optimizing a tangle of conveyor belts in Satisfactory (it's really becoming a problem), he's probably playing a 20-year-old Final Fantasy or some opaque ASCII roguelike. With a focus on writing and editing features, he seeks out personal stories and in-depth histories from the corners of PC gaming and its niche communities. 50% pizza by volume (deep dish, to be specific).

Read more
The jester from Balatro, portrayed in unsettling detail in real life, wears an uncanny smile and stares at the viewer.
Balatro's LocalThunk isn't 'trying to pull a Banksy', he just 'wanted to be left alone to make his game'
Bloodborne in excelsis.
Retired PlayStation exec reckons Bloodborne PC hasn't happened because Miyazaki 'cannot do it himself, but he doesn’t want anyone else to touch it'
Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth money farm - Super Crazy Delivery
Like a Dragon series director sums up why sidequests are essential to a great RPG with a single metaphor: 'a good main dish alone will not earn you a Michelin star'
Junya Ishizaki next to an image from Elden Ring: Nightreign
Elden Ring Nightreign director didn't want to 'encroach too much' on the lore fans hold sacred by including Dark Souls bosses, but admits 'I thought it'd be kind of fun'
Starfield's companion robot giving a thumbs-up
Former Bethesda dev who quit Starfield to go solo says it's 'much less stressful as an indie' without daily meetings or 'office politics': it's 'very refreshing to just care about the game'
An image of Hornet from Hollow Knight: Silksong standing amidst a verdant landscape.
1,465 consecutive days of (mostly) no Silksong news: I spoke to the Sisyphean internet hero that's kept folks informed, every 24 hours, for 4 whole years
Latest in RPG
Ciri in The Witcher 4
The Witcher 4 won't be out until sometime in 2027 at the soonest, CD Projekt says
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 characters with their bodies replaced by skeletons, thanks to the KCD2 Skeleton mod.
Here's that Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 mod that turns everyone into skeletons you asked for
Ghoul in sunglasses
I'm convinced being a ghoul in Fallout 76 is the best way to vibe in West Virginia, thanks to these powerful perk cards and my new true love: Radiation
A hunter digs in to some delicious dumplings in Monster Hunter Wilds.
Monster Hunter Wilds' first title update is overflowing with new stuff: A long-awaited Grand Hub, Arch-tempered Monsters, Arena Quests, and most importantly, fashion
Lou Graham
Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 won't have typical RPG romantic relationships, but it will feature 'romantic feeding'
Phyre, the Elder Kindred from Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2, stares intently at something in the distance, a frown writ into their forehead.
Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 has been delayed again, but I'm not too worried—I've played it, and it's looking great
Latest in News
Ciri in The Witcher 4
The Witcher 4 won't be out until sometime in 2027 at the soonest, CD Projekt says
Dwarf Fortress adventure mode art
After 23 years of making Dwarf Fortress, even its creator is still 'terrified' of drowning all his dwarves with aquifers: 'Part of the problem is we are just not good at videogames'
A unique aspect of Japanese architecture turned out to be a key reason the Like a Dragon games can reuse assets so effectively—and deliver more compact, memorable open worlds than western cities
Pacific Drive Endless Expeditions spring 2025 update trailer still - a sexy, tricked-out 1980s station wagon being blasted with magic healing electricity
Pacific Drive developers change their mind: A year after refusing to give it mid-run saves, it's getting mid-run saves
Starfield's companion robot giving a thumbs-up
Former Bethesda dev who quit Starfield to go solo says it's 'much less stressful as an indie' without daily meetings or 'office politics': it's 'very refreshing to just care about the game'
Schedule I drug deal going down
Forget REPO, Monster Hunter Wilds and Assassin's Creed Shadows, Steam's current global top seller is an early access game about managing a drug empire