Hopes for a FromSoftware announcement as part of the Summer Game Fest 2024 schedule have grown as Elden Ring and Dark Souls director Hidetaka Miyazaki has been spotted in LA.
In a tweet, journalist Ainsley Bowden said that he'd bumped into Miyazaki in his hotel, potentially alongside FromSoftware producer Yasuhiro Kitao. Given the relatively rare cadence of Miyazaki's public appearances in the West, it would seem that the pair's presence in Los Angeles ahead of Summer Game Fest later today and the Xbox Showcase on Sunday has sparked some significant attention.
I just got to my hotel and met one of my gaming idols in Miyazaki. I can go home now. #EldenRing #Xbox Excuse the ridiculous smile - I was excited. pic.twitter.com/B3loCfzmreJune 7, 2024
Several large FromSoftware accounts have taken note of Miyazaki's appearance ahead of the show. YouTuber ZioStorm said that they weren't "planning on watching the showcases today, but now they have my attention." Fellow YouTuber SekiroDubi went even further, theorizing that with the senior FromSoftware developers at SGF, "I doubt they are there just to present the DLC." With Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree now only weeks away, we've seen quite a lot of FromSoftware's next release, and it does seem odd that Miyazaki would fly all the way from Japan to simply offer yet another look at that.
It seems almost equally unlikely, however, that FromSoftware would be ready to show off something brand-new. Armored Core 6 isn't even a year old, and with Shadow of the Erdtree yet to release, I wouldn't bet on a whole new game being ready to go for some time yet. That said, perhaps Miyazaki might have a throwaway line about a new project - earlier this year, he said that while there were no plans for an Elden Ring sequel or a second DLC, the "possibility" remained. Could that possibility have hardened into reality since those comments were made?
Get hyped for more Elden Ring with our Shadow of the Erdtree preview.