FromSoftware

FromSoftware, Inc. is a Japanese video game developer and publisher. Founded by Naotoshi Zin on November 1, 1986 as a business software developer, the company released their first video game, King's Field, for the PlayStation in 1994. Its success shifted FromSoftware to focus fully on games, with them producing two more King's Field games before the first release of the mecha shooter series Armored Core in 1997.

By the 2000s, FromSoftware's releases included the Echo Night, Shadow Tower, Lost Kingdoms, Otogi, and Another Century's Episode series. The company achieved breakout success by the 2010s with Demon's Souls and the Dark Souls trilogy of action role-playing games. Often cited among the greatest video games ever made, their emphasis on high difficulty and environmental storytelling led to the creation of the Soulslike subgenre, which also includes other later FromSoftware titles such as Bloodborne (2015), Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice (2019), and Elden Ring (2022).

Hidetaka Miyazaki, creator and director of the Dark Souls series, as well as other successful FromSoftware titles like Demon's Souls, Bloodborne, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice and Elden Ring, has served as FromSoftware's representative director and president since 2014, with Zin remaining as an advisor. Miyazaki directs and designs the majority of the company's games in addition to his executive duties. FromSoftware is primarily owned by Kadokawa Corporation (70%), with minority stakes by Sixjoy Hong Kong (16%), a subsidiary of Tencent, and Sony Interactive Entertainment (14%). FromSoftware usually self-publishes in Japan, and has partnered with international publishers, including Agetec, Sony, Bandai Namco Entertainment, Sega, Capcom, Nintendo, and Koch Media.

History

1980s and 1990s

Founded in Tokyo on November 1, 1986, by Naotoshi Zin, FromSoftware originally began as a developer of business applications before shifting focus to video games.^[2] The company released its first game, King's Field, for the PlayStation in 1994. Despite its commercial success in Japan, the game was not released in other regions, although 1995's King's Field II was released in both North America and Europe in 1996.^[3] After releasing King's Field III in 1996, FromSoftware went on to release the horror game Echo Night and the 1998 role-playing game Shadow Tower. In 1997, FromSoftware released Armored Core, the first release in its flagship Armored Core series of mecha combat games.^[4]

2000s

With the launch of the PlayStation 2 in 2000, FromSoftware released the role-playing games Eternal Ring and Evergrace.^[4] The same year, FromSoftware released Sword of Moonlight: King's Field Making Tool, an SDK for Windows that lets users develop their own King's Field games.^[5] In 2003, FromSoftware published Tenchu: Wrath of Heaven, a stealth game that combines action and adventure elements.^[6] In 2004, FromSoftware bought the rights to the series, excluding the first two games, from Activision.^[7][8] The company also released King's Field IV and Shadow Tower Abyss, in addition to the Lost Kingdoms series for the GameCube.^[4] The company also made a few games exclusive to the Xbox around this time, such as Murakumo: Renegade Mech Pursuit, Otogi: Myth of Demons, Otogi 2: Immortal Warriors, Metal Wolf Chaos, and Chromehounds. In 2005, FromSoftware would start to produce a series of licensed games based on the various anime properties under the banner Another Century's Episode.^[4] The same year, the company hosted the video game industry's first internship that let students experience game development through a game creation kit, Adventure Player, for the PlayStation Portable.^[6] In May 2008, FromSoftware underwent a stock split.^[6]

2010s

FromSoftware achieved breakout success in the 2010s,^[6] spurred by the release of Demon's Souls (2009) and Dark Souls (2011), the latter being the first entry in a trilogy whose success led to the creation of a subgenre of action role-playing games known as Soulsborne games.^[9] These include Dark Souls II (2014),^[10] Bloodborne (2015),^[11][12] Dark Souls III (2016),^[13] Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice (2019),^[14][15] and Elden Ring (2022),^[16][17][18] all of which have received several awards and are often listed among the greatest video games of all time.^{[19][20][21][22]} In April 2014, Kadokawa Corporation announced its intention to purchase the company from former shareholder Transcosmos.^[23] Following other restructuring, Souls creator Hidetaka Miyazaki would be promoted to company president the following month and later given the title of representative director.^[24] In January 2016, FromSoftware established a studio in Fukuoka that focuses on creating computer-generated imagery (CGI) assets for its games.^[25][26]

2020s

In August 2022, Sixjoy Hong Kong (a subsidiary of Tencent) and Sony Interactive Entertainment respectively acquired 16.25% and 14.09% of FromSoftware, leaving 69.66% to Kadokawa.^[27] In November 2022, a report by GamesIndustry.biz claimed that FromSoftware was paying its employees at sub-standard rates.^[28] The company had 423 employees as of June 2024.^[29] In October 2024, the developer announced a salary increase of approximately 12% for its employees.^[30] In April 2025, FromSoftware announced The Duskbloods, a multiplayer-focused soulslike game directed by Miyazaki for the Nintendo Switch 2.^[31]

Games

References

1. ^ "フロム・ソフトウェア、25年3月期決算は売上高51％増の234億円、営業益53％増の100億円と大幅増収増益…『ELDEN RING』DLCと本編が販売好調" (in Japanese). gamebiz. 23 July 2025. Retrieved 19 October 2025.
2. ^ "角川ゲームスとフロム・ソフトウェア「MEDIA BRIEFING 2014 AUTUMN」を開催". GAME Watch. November 25, 2014. Archived June 6, 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved December 21, 2021.
3. ^ Ciolek, Todd (March 16, 2015). "The History of From Software". ign.com. Archived March 18, 2015 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved April 7, 2018.
4. ^ Ciolek, Todd (March 16, 2015). "The History of From Software". IGN. p. 1. Archived March 18, 2015 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved May 20, 2017.
5. ^ "Products | FromSoftware, Inc.". www.fromsoftware.jp. Retrieved 2025-12-09.
6. ^ "History | FromSoftware". www.fromsoftware.jp. Retrieved April 8, 2020.
7. ^ Fahey, Rob (July 7, 2004). "From Software buys Tenchu rights". GamesIndustry.biz. Retrieved November 23, 2024.
8. ^ Hirohiko Niizumi (2004-07-06). "From Software acquires Tenchu brand". GameSpot. Archived 2023-12-13 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2024-11-23.
9. ^ Wildgoose, David (March 7, 2022). "Painfully Difficult: From Software's 30+ Year Journey From PS1 to Elden Ring". IGN. Retrieved March 8, 2022.
10. ^ Nunneley-Jackson, Stephany (October 24, 2014). "Dark Souls 2 wins Game of the Year at Golden Joystick Awards". VG247. Retrieved December 21, 2022.
11. ^ "Eurogamer's Game of the Year 2015". Eurogamer.net. January 2016. Retrieved December 20, 2022.
12. ^ "Edge Presents: The 100 Greatest Video Games of All Time". Edge. August 2017.
13. ^ "Overwatch and Dark Souls 3 win big at this year's Golden Joystick Awards". PC Gamer. November 18, 2016. Retrieved February 13, 2017.
14. ^ Makuch, Eddie (December 13, 2019). "The Game Awards 2019 Winners: Sekiro Takes Game Of The Year". GameSpot. Retrieved December 13, 2019.
15. ^ Hussain, Tamoor (December 17, 2019). "Game Of The Year 2019 – Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice". GameSpot. Retrieved December 17, 2019.
16. ^ "Elden Ring takes top honors at the Japan Game Awards". Japan Times. September 15, 2022.
17. ^ Loveridge, Sam (November 22, 2022). "Here are all the Golden Joystick Awards 2022 winners". GamesRadar+. Retrieved November 24, 2022.
18. ^ Plant, Logan (December 8, 2022). "The Game Awards 2022 Winners: The Full List". IGN. Archived December 9, 2022 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved December 9, 2022.
19. ^ Kain, Erik (November 22, 2013). "'Dark Souls' Inspired The Design Of Sony's PlayStation 4". Forbes. Archived October 5, 2018 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved October 5, 2018.
20. ^ Polygon Staff (November 27, 2017). "The 500 Best Video Games of All Time". Polygon.com. Archived March 3, 2018 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved December 1, 2017.
21. ^ Hussain, Tamoor (May 14, 2019). "The Most Influential Games Of The 21st Century: Dark Souls". GameSpot. Archived May 14, 2019 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved May 21, 2019.
22. ^ Donnelly, Joe (November 23, 2021). "Why Dark Souls has been crowned the best video game of all time". GamesRadar+. Retrieved December 20, 2022.
23. ^ "From Software acquired by Japanese publisher Kadokawa Corporation". Archived from the original on April 29, 2014. Retrieved April 28, 2014.
24. ^ Duwell, Ron (May 23, 2014). "Dark Souls' Hidetaka Miyazaki Promoted to President of From Software". Techno Buffalo. Archived April 2, 2015 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved March 25, 2015.
25. ^ "From Software to open new studio in Fukuoka". Gematsu. September 12, 2015. Archived September 16, 2015 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved September 15, 2015.
26. ^ "FromSoftware to Establish New Studio in Fukuoka in October 2015". FromSoftware. Archived June 1, 2016 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved June 25, 2016.
27. ^ "Tencent and Sony Interactive Entertainment collectively acquire 30.34 percent of FromSoftware". Gematsu. August 31, 2022. Retrieved August 31, 2022.
28. ^ "How much does From Software crunch?". GamesIndustry.biz. November 29, 2022. Retrieved January 27, 2023.
29. ^ "About". fromsoftware.jp. Retrieved July 24, 2024.
30. ^ "Elden Ring developer FromSoftware announces salary increase of 12%". Eurogamer.net. 2024-10-04. Retrieved 2024-10-04.
31. ^ "From Software Announces The Duskbloods, A New RPG Exclusive To Switch 2". GameSpot. Retrieved 2025-04-03.