FromSoftware, Inc.

Native name	株式会社フロム・ソフトウェア
Romanized name	Kabushiki gaisha furomu sofutowea
Type	Kabushiki gaisha subsidiary
Industry	Video game industry
Founded	November 1, 1986; 32 years ago (1986-11-01)
Headquarters	Tokyo , Japan
Key people	Hidetaka Miyazaki (President)[1] Masanori Takeuchi (Senior Managing Director)[1]
Products	King's Field Armored Core Souls Bloodborne
Number of employees	283 (2017[1])
Parent	Kadokawa Corporation
Website	fromsoftware.jp/ww/

FromSoftware, Inc. is a Japanese video game development company founded in November 1986. The company is known primarily outside Japan for being the developers of the Armored Core and Souls series, as well as Bloodborne.

History[edit]

FromSoftware was founded on November 1, 1986, and developed productivity software for the first several years of their existence. They released their first video game, titled King's Field, as a launch title for the PlayStation in 1994.^[2] The initial King's Field did not see a release in North America, although a 1995 sequel would later be released in North America bearing the same title, which was released as King's Field II in Japan. After releasing a third title in that series, FromSoftware moved on to release Echo Night as well as Shadow Tower in 1998. IGN would later note that the latter was "effectively a King's Field follow-up" as it shared many of the gameplay conventions of its brethren. Also during this time FromSoftware would release Armored Core, the first in a mech game series which would go on to spawn many sequels.^[3]

When the PlayStation 2 was launched in 2000, FromSoftware supported the system with two RPGs Eternal Ring, which like the King's Field series is a first person RPG, and Evergrace, a more conventional action RPG viewed from a third person perspective.^[3] The company also released a pair of sequels to their PlayStation 1 offerings with King's Field IV and Shadow Tower Abyss.^[3] FromSoftware also released the Lost Kingdom titles for the Gamecube, a competing sixth generation console.^[3] IGN would note however that during this generation FromSoftware's focus would shift from RPG's to mech games due in part to the success of the Armored Core series. In addition to Armored Core titles, FromSoftware would also release Frame Gride for the Dreamcast as well as a pair of Xbox games Murakumo: Armored Mech Pursuit and Metal Wolf Chaos. In addition to original mecha games FromSoftware would also produce a series of licensed games based on the various anime properties under the banner Another Century's Episode.^[3]

In April 2014, Kadokawa Corporation announced its intention to purchase the company from former shareholder Transcosmos. The deal was finalized on May 21, 2014.^[4] FromSoftware expanded into a new studio in Fukuoka in January 2016, which focuses on creating computer-generated imagery (CGI) assets for the games made by the main studio.^[5][6]

In December 2015, FromSoftware was nominated for developer of the year at The Game Awards 2015, but lost to CD Projekt Red.^[7]

Games[edit]

FromSoftware have developed for a wide range of platforms, including the Dreamcast, Nintendo DS, GameCube, PlayStation, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox, Xbox 360, Xbox One, PlayStation Portable, Wii, Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, and various mobile devices.

With fifteen titles developed, the Armored Core series is the studio's longest running franchise. The most recent title, Armored Core: Verdict Day, was released worldwide in September 2013 for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Earlier, less notable outside Japan, titles include the Enchanted Arms, King's Field, Chromehounds, Otogi, and Tenchu series, all of which have been met with mostly favorable reviews.

In 2009, they released Demon's Souls for the PlayStation 3, which brought them international exposure. Its spiritual successor, Dark Souls, was released in 2011. In March 2014, Dark Souls II, was released, while Dark Souls III was released in 2016.^[8] A title inspired by the Souls series, Bloodborne, was released in March 2015. The Souls series, along with Bloodborne, received widespread critical acclaim, as well as strong sales domestically and internationally.^[9][10][11] They have also received a number of awards, primarily those for the role-playing genre, including multiple "RPG of the Year" and Game of the Year awards.^{[12][13][14][15]} Since release, Dark Souls and Bloodborne have been cited by many publications to be among the greatest games of all time.^[16][17][18]

In April 2016, FromSoftware revealed that they were working on a new intellectual property, as well as stating their intent to return to the Armored Core series.^[19] Two games, the PlayStation VR exclusive Déraciné and the multiplatform Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, were announced at E3 2018.^[20][21]

References[edit]

External links[edit]

• Official website