FromSoftware

FromSoftware, Inc. is a Japanese video game development and publishing company. It was founded by Naotoshi Zin in Tokyo on November 1, 1986. Initially a developer of business software, 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 creating the mecha combat series Armored Core (1997), one of their flagship franchises. By the 2000s, FromSoftware's releases included the Echo Night, Shadow Tower, Lost Kingdoms, Otogi, and Another Century's Episode series. The company would achieve breakout success in the 2010s spurred by 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 Soulslikes. These include FromSoftware's Bloodborne (2015), Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice (2019), and Elden Ring (2022), which are often cited as among the greatest video games of all time. Hidetaka Miyazaki, creator of the Dark Souls series, has served as FromSoftware's representative director and president since 2014, with Zin remaining as an advisor. Despite his executive duties, Miyazaki directs and designs the majority of the company's games. FromSoftware is owned primarily by Kadokawa Corporation, with minority stakes by Tencent subsidiary Sixjoy Hong Kong and Sony Interactive Entertainment. FromSoftware usually self-publishes in Japan and partners with companies such as Agetec, Sony, and Bandai Namco Entertainment to publish internationally. FromSoftware was founded in Tokyo by Naotoshi Zin on November 1, 1986, as a software developer of business applications. 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.