The only problem with releasing a standalone game that quickly becomes a cultural phenomenon is that fans are going to want more and, despite Elden Ring since welcoming a roguelike spin-off as well as news of an upcoming live-action movie and Elden Ring: Tarnished Edition, this alone has not satiated fans who are still calling for a sequel to the hit FromSoftware RPG.
First released back in 2022 and created by Hidetaka Miyazaki with worldbuilding from A Song of Ice and Fire author George R.R. Martin, Elden Ring was always destined for greatness, especially as the latest entry in FromSoftware's impressive roster. Taking players to the Lands Between in the first open-world Souls game, Elden Ring received praise for its worldbuilding, setting, story, characters, soundtrack, visuals, and more, and is now regarded as one of the greatest video games of all time.
However, with Miyazaki himself previously stating that FromSoftware is "not really considering developments such as an Elden Ring 2" back in 2024, a recent development shows that they may not be the case after all.
That is because, according to a report by Reuters, Kadokawa, the parent company of FromSoftware, recently held a shareholders meeting after calls for CEO Takeshi Natsuno to step down began in earnest. The calls for Natsuno's removal were headed by Oasis Management, Kadokawa's biggest shareholder, due to the former believing that the latter did not capitalize on Elden Ring's popularity enough. Quite simply, Oasis Management expected a whole lot more profit from the hit FromSoftware title.
News of this development recently took to r/Eldenring and fans were quick to speculate what this could mean for the future of Elden Ring. If Oasis Management are looking for more money based off the game's popularity, surely this means that a sequel would make sense?
"To be fair, they probably did lose a lot of money by not self-publishing," the top comment reads. "That being said, I want shareholders to stay as far away from FromSoftware as possible." Another said, "My bro Miyazaki needs to fu**ing leave and start his own company. We'll follow him there. F**k this noise."
However, another user was quick to point out the real reason why Oasis Manangement was unhappy with Kadokawa. "The actual complaint is that Kadokawa, FromSoftware’s parent company, allegedly failed to capture enough of the money already being made by Elden Ring because FromSoftware relies on outside publishers, especially Bandai Namco, for overseas publishing."
Whatever the reason, the future of the Elden Ring franchise remains uncertain, with no current plans for a sequel. However, with multiple IPs expected to be in development at FromSoftware, we can only hope that this noise does not affect the magicians at work.
