FromSoftware
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Native name | 株式会社フロム・ソフトウェア |
|---|---|
Romanized name | Kabushiki gaisha furomu sofutowea |
| Company type | Joint venture (kabushiki gaisha) |
| Industry | Video games |
| Founded | November 1, 1986 |
| Founder | Naotoshi Zin |
| Headquarters | , Japan |
Key people | |
| Products | |
| Owner |
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Number of employees | 397 (June 2023) |
| Website | 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 achieved breakout success in the 2010s with 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.
History
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FromSoftware was founded in Tokyo by Naotoshi Zin on November 1, 1986, as a developer of business applications.[1] 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.[2] 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.[3]
With the launch of the PlayStation 2 in 2000, FromSoftware released the role-playing games Eternal Ring and Evergrace.[3] In 2003, FromSoftware published Tenchu: Wrath of Heaven, a stealth game that combines action and adventure elements.[4] The company also released King's Field IV and Shadow Tower Abyss, in addition to the Lost Kingdoms series for the GameCube.[3] 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.[3] 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.[4]
FromSoftware underwent a stock split in 2008 before achieving breakout success in the 2010s,[4] 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 Soulslikes.[5] These include Dark Souls II (2014),[6] Bloodborne (2015),[7][8] Dark Souls III (2016),[9] Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice (2019),[10][11] and Elden Ring (2022),[12][13][14] which have all received several awards and are often listed among the greatest video games of all time.[15][16][17][18]
In April 2014, Kadokawa Corporation announced its intention to purchase the company from former shareholder Transcosmos.[19] Following other restructuring, Souls creator Hidetaka Miyazaki would be promoted to company president the following month and later given the title of representative director.[20] In January 2016, FromSoftware established a studio in Fukuoka that focuses on creating computer-generated imagery (CGI) assets for their games.[21][22] 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.[23] A report published by GamesIndustry.biz in November 2022 said that FromSoftware paid their employees at sub-standard rates.[24] The company had 397 employees as of June 2023[update].[25]
Games
References
- ^ "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 from the original on June 6, 2021. Retrieved December 21, 2021.
- ^ Ciolek, Todd (March 16, 2015). "The History of From Software". ign.com. Archived from the original on March 18, 2015. Retrieved April 7, 2018.
- ^ a b c d Ciolek, Todd (March 16, 2015). "The History of From Software". IGN. p. 1. Archived from the original on March 18, 2015. Retrieved May 20, 2017.
- ^ a b c "History | FromSoftware". www.fromsoftware.jp. Retrieved April 8, 2020.
- ^ Wildgoose, David (March 7, 2022). "Painfully Difficult: From Software's 30+ Year Journey From PS1 to Elden Ring". IGN. Retrieved March 8, 2022.
- ^ Nunneley-Jackson, Stephany (October 24, 2014). "Dark Souls 2 wins Game of the Year at Golden Joystick Awards". VG247. Retrieved December 21, 2022.
- ^ "Eurogamer's Game of the Year 2015". Eurogamer.net. January 2016. Retrieved December 20, 2022.
- ^ "Edge Presents: The 100 Greatest Video Games of All Time". Edge. August 2017.
- ^ "Overwatch and Dark Souls 3 win big at this year's Golden Joystick Awards". PC Gamer. November 18, 2016. Retrieved February 13, 2017.
- ^ Makuch, Eddie (December 13, 2019). "The Game Awards 2019 Winners: Sekiro Takes Game Of The Year". GameSpot. Retrieved December 13, 2019.
- ^ Hussain, Tamoor (December 17, 2019). "Game Of The Year 2019 – Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice". GameSpot. Retrieved December 17, 2019.
- ^ "Elden Ring takes top honors at the Japan Game Awards". Japan Times. September 15, 2022.
- ^ Loveridge, Sam (November 22, 2022). "Here are all the Golden Joystick Awards 2022 winners". GamesRadar+. Retrieved November 24, 2022.
- ^ Plant, Logan (December 8, 2022). "The Game Awards 2022 Winners: The Full List". IGN. Archived from the original on December 9, 2022. Retrieved December 9, 2022.
- ^ Kain, Erik (November 22, 2013). "'Dark Souls' Inspired The Design Of Sony's PlayStation 4". Forbes. Archived from the original on October 5, 2018. Retrieved October 5, 2018.
- ^ Polygon Staff (November 27, 2017). "The 500 Best Video Games of All Time". Polygon.com. Archived from the original on March 3, 2018. Retrieved December 1, 2017.
- ^ Hussain, Tamoor (May 14, 2019). "The Most Influential Games Of The 21st Century: Dark Souls". GameSpot. Archived from the original on May 14, 2019. Retrieved May 21, 2019.
- ^ Donnelly, Joe (November 23, 2021). "Why Dark Souls has been crowned the best video game of all time". GamesRadar+. Retrieved December 20, 2022.
- ^ "From Software acquired by Japanese publisher Kadokawa Corporation". Archived from the original on April 29, 2014. Retrieved April 28, 2014.
- ^ Duwell, Ron (May 23, 2014). "Dark Souls' Hidetaka Miyazaki Promoted to President of From Software". Techno Buffalo. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved March 25, 2015.
- ^ "From Software to open new studio in Fukuoka". Gematsu. September 12, 2015. Archived from the original on September 16, 2015. Retrieved September 15, 2015.
- ^ "FromSoftware to Establish New Studio in Fukuoka in October 2015". FromSoftware. Archived from the original on June 1, 2016. Retrieved June 25, 2016.
- ^ "Tencent and Sony Interactive Entertainment collectively acquire 30.34 percent of FromSoftware". Gematsu. August 31, 2022. Retrieved August 31, 2022.
- ^ "How much does From Software crunch?". GamesIndustry.biz. November 29, 2022. Retrieved January 27, 2023.
- ^ "About". fromsoftware.jp. Retrieved August 7, 2023.
External links
| Another Century's Episode | |||||||
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| Armored Core | |||||||
| Echo Night | |||||||
| Evergrace | |||||||
| King's Field | |||||||
| Lost Kingdoms | |||||||
| Otogi | |||||||
| Shadow Tower | |||||||
| Soulslike |
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| Other games | |||||||
| Related | |||||||
| Video games | |
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| Other | |
| Universe | |
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| International | |
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| National | |
| Artists | |
- Japanese companies established in 1986
- Software companies based in Tokyo
- Kadokawa Corporation subsidiaries
- Japanese brands
- Video game companies of Japan
- Video game companies established in 1986
- Video game development companies
- Video game publishers
- 2014 mergers and acquisitions
- Tencent
- Sony Interactive Entertainment
- Golden Joystick Award winners