There has been an abnormally large number of video game studio closures and layoffs in 2024, which has understandably caused some to worry about the state of the industry. Sometimes, not even successful games are enough to prevent jobs from being lost. However, Elden Ring developer From Software hasn’t followed suit, and the studio’s president Hidetaka Miyazaki says this will be the case as long as he’s in charge
“Speaking to myself and this company, I want to say that this is not something I would wish on the staff at From Software in a million years,” Miyazaki told PC Gamer. “I’m pretty sure our parent company Kadokawa understands that and shares that view… We can’t say with complete certainty what the future’s going to hold for From and Kadokawa–at least as long as this company is my responsibility, that’s something I would not let happen. So hopefully our players and our fans can take a little bit of assurance from that.”
Elden Ring has already sold over 25 million copies across all platforms, and and that likely gives From Software more leeway if it runs into a potential rough patch. Having said that, video game journalist Lewis Gordon noted that Japanese labor law prevents companies from laying off workers just to pump up the company’s revenue numbers for the appearance of profitability.
Not saying this isn’t a good thing to say, but it’s worth noting that enacting such mass layoffs in Japan (to, say, juice the numbers of a quarterly report for shareholders) is essentially illegal. Labor law is what fundamentally protects Japanese employees, not benevolent CEOs. https://t.co/RNnCBN0nZn
— Lewis Gordon 🐚 (@lewis_gordon) June 18, 2024
From Software’s new Elden Ring DLC expansion, Shadow of the Erdtree, will be released on June 21.
