# FromSoftware

FromSoftware, Inc. is a Japanese video game development and publishing company. 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 Dark Souls, 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 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 has partnered with international publishers such as Agetec, Sony, Bandai Namco Entertainment, Sega, Capcom, Nintendo, and Koch Media.

## History
### 1980s and 1990s

FromSoftware was founded in Tokyo by Naotoshi Zin on November 1, 1986, as a 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. 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 their flagship Armored Core series of mecha combat games.

### 2000s

With the launch of the PlayStation 2 in 2000, FromSoftware released the role-playing games Eternal Ring and Evergrace. In 2003, FromSoftware published Tenchu: Wrath of Heaven, a stealth game that combines action and adventure elements. In 2004, FromSoftware bought the rights to the series, excluding the first two games, from Activision. The company also released King's Field IV and Shadow Tower Abyss, in addition to the Lost Kingdoms series for the GameCube. 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. 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. In May 2008, FromSoftware underwent a stock split.

### 2010s

FromSoftware achieved breakout success in the 2010s, 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 Soulslike games. These include Dark Souls II (2014), Bloodborne (2015), Dark Souls III (2016), Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice (2019), and Elden Ring (2022), which have all received several awards and are often listed among the greatest video games of all time. In April 2014, Kadokawa Corporation announced its intention to purchase the company from former shareholder Transcosmos. Following other restructuring, Souls creator Hidetaka Miyazaki would be promoted to company president the following month and later given the title of representative director. In January 2016, FromSoftware established a studio in Fukuoka that focuses on creating computer-generated imagery (CGI) assets for their games.

### 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. A November 2022 report by GamesIndustry.biz claimed that FromSoftware was paying their employees at sub-standard rates. The company had 423 employees as of June 2024. In October 2024, the developer announced a salary increase of approximately 12% for its employees.

## Games

List of games developed by FromSoftware :
| Year | Title | System | International publisher |
| 1994 | King's Field | PlayStation | — |
| 1995 | King's Field II | PlayStation | NA: ASCII EntertainmentEU: Sony Computer Entertainment |
| 1996 | King's Field III | PlayStation | ASCII Entertainment |
| 1997 | Armored Core | PlayStation | Sony Computer Entertainment |
| 1997 | Armored Core: Project Phantasma | PlayStation | ASCII Entertainment |
| 1998 | Shadow Tower | PlayStation | Agetec |
| 1998 | Echo Night | PlayStation | Agetec |
| 1999 | Armored Core: Master of Arena | PlayStation | Agetec |
| 1999 | Spriggan: Lunar Verse | PlayStation | — |
| 1999 | Frame Gride | Dreamcast | — |
| 1999 | Echo Night 2: The Lord of Nightmares | PlayStation | — |
| 2000 | Eternal Ring | PlayStation 2 | NA: AgetecEU: Ubisoft |
| 2000 | Evergrace | PlayStation 2 | NA: AgetecEU: Ubisoft |
| 2000 | Armored Core 2 | PlayStation 2 | NA: AgetecEU: Ubisoft |
| 2000 | The Adventures of Cookie & Cream | PlayStation 2 | NA: AgetecEU: Empire Interactive |
| 2001 | Armored Core 2: Another Age | PlayStation 2 | NA: AgetecEU: Metro3D |
| 2001 | Forever Kingdom | PlayStation 2 | Agetec |
| 2001 | King's Field IV | PlayStation 2 | NA: AgetecEU: Metro3D |
| 2002 | Armored Core 3 | PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable | NA: AgetecEU: Metro3D |
| 2002 | Lost Kingdoms | GameCube | Activision |
| 2002 | Murakumo: Renegade Mech Pursuit | Xbox | Ubisoft |
| 2002 | Otogi: Myth of Demons | Xbox | Sega |
| 2003 | Silent Line: Armored Core | PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable | Agetec |
| 2003 | Thousand Land | Xbox | — |
| 2003 | Lost Kingdoms II | GameCube | Activision |
| 2003 | Shadow Tower Abyss | PlayStation 2 | — |
| 2003 | Otogi 2: Immortal Warriors | Xbox | Sega |
| 2004 | Echo Night: Beyond | PlayStation 2 | NA: AgetecEU: Indie Games Productions |
| 2004 | Armored Core: Nexus | PlayStation 2 | Agetec |
| 2004 | Kuon | PlayStation 2 | NA: AgetecEU: Indie Games Productions |
| 2004 | Armored Core: Nine Breaker | PlayStation 2 | NA: AgetecEU: 505 Games |
| 2004 | Armored Core: Formula Front | PlayStation Portable, PlayStation 2 | NA: AgetecEU: 505 Games |
| 2004 | Metal Wolf Chaos | Xbox, PlayStation 4, Windows, Xbox One | Devolver Digital |
| 2005 | Yoshitsune Eiyūden | PlayStation 2 | — |
| 2005 | Another Century's Episode | PlayStation 2 | Banpresto |
| 2005 | Armored Core: Last Raven | PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable | NA: AgetecEU: 505 Games |
| 2006 | Enchanted Arms | Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 | Ubisoft |
| 2006 | Another Century's Episode 2 | PlayStation 2 | Banpresto |
| 2006 | Chromehounds | Xbox 360 | Sega |
| 2006 | King's Field: Additional I | PlayStation Portable | — |
| 2006 | King's Field: Additional II | PlayStation Portable | — |
| 2006 | Armored Core 4 | PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 | NA: SegaEU: 505 Games |
| 2007 | Nanpure VOW | Nintendo DS | — |
| 2007 | Iraroji VOW | Nintendo DS | — |
| 2007 | Another Century's Episode 3: The Final | PlayStation 2 | Banpresto |
| 2008 | Armored Core: For Answer | PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 | Ubisoft |
| 2008 | Shadow Assault: Tenchu | Xbox 360 | — |
| 2009 | Inugamike no Ichizoku | Nintendo DS | Nintendo |
| 2009 | Ninja Blade | Xbox 360, Windows | Microsoft Game Studios |
| 2009 | Demon's Souls | PlayStation 3 | JP: Sony Computer EntertainmentNA: AtlusPAL: Namco Bandai Partners |
| 2009 | Yatsu Hakamura | Nintendo DS | — |
| 2010 | Another Century's Episode: R | PlayStation 3 | Banpresto |
| 2010 | Monster Hunter Diary: Poka Poka Airou Village | PlayStation Portable | Capcom |
| 2011 | Another Century's Episode Portable | PlayStation Portable | Namco Bandai Games |
| 2011 | Dark Souls | PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Windows | Namco Bandai Games |
| 2012 | Armored Core V | PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 | Namco Bandai Games |
| 2012 | Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn | PlayStation 3 | Namco Bandai Games |
| 2012 | Steel Battalion: Heavy Armor | Xbox 360 | Capcom |
| 2013 | Armored Core: Verdict Day | PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 | Namco Bandai Games |
| 2014 | Dark Souls II | PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Windows | Bandai Namco Games |
| 2015 | Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin | PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Windows, Xbox 360, Xbox One | Bandai Namco Games |
| 2015 | Bloodborne | PlayStation 4 | Sony Computer Entertainment |
| 2015 | Monster Hunter Diary: Poka Poka Airou Village DX | Nintendo 3DS | Capcom |
| 2016 | Dark Souls III | PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Windows | Bandai Namco Entertainment |
| 2018 | Déraciné | PlayStation 4 (PlayStation VR) | Sony Interactive Entertainment |
| 2018 | Dark Souls: Remastered | PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Windows, Nintendo Switch | Bandai Namco Entertainment |
| 2019 | Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice | PlayStation 4, Windows, Xbox One, Stadia | Activision |
| 2022 | Elden Ring | PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S | Bandai Namco Entertainment |
| 2023 | Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon | PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S | Bandai Namco Entertainment |
| 2025 | Elden Ring Nightreign | PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S | Bandai Namco Entertainment |