Recently, Gamespot put out this interview with Hidetaka Miyazaki (Director of Dark Souls, Bloodborne, and Dark Souls III, President of From Software). This interview is about a week old now, but I actually first learned of this from Youtuber EpicNameBro, who put out this video on the topic. (Discussed at 2:50)

I looked around the various souls forums and couldn't find any mention of it. I thought there could be some interesting discussion.

A relevant excerpt from the interview:

"I don't think it'd be the right choice to continue indefinitely creating Souls and Bloodborne games. I'm considering Dark Souls 3 to be the big closure on the series. That's not just limited to me, but From Software and myself together want to aggressively make new things in the future. Dark Souls 3 will mark the last game where the development project began before I became president. The next title will be a game that was conceived while I was president. I believe that From Software has to create new things. There will be new types of games coming from us, and Dark Souls 3 is an important marker in the evolution of From Software."

So it would seem Dark Souls 3 will be the last of the Souls games. Many people are quite happy to hear this news, judging from comments on the topic.

I personally started off with Dark Souls and played Dark Souls 2 as soon as it came out on consoles. Never had a chance to play Bloodborne or Demon Souls, unfortunately. I'm probably a bit of an oddity when it comes to Dark Souls. I enjoyed DS2 more than DS1 and I never fully agreed with the hate DS2 received. In the summer of 2014, Dark Souls 2 went on sale and I managed to convince multiple friends to try it out. I ended up playing a lot of coop, which was hilariously fun at times. I was the Dark Souls master and they were my pupils. Together, all but one made it to the end of the game. Thanks to all those memories, I've built up a soft spot for DS2. As far as I'm concerned the games were getting better.

That being said, I don't feel all that sad about Souls wrapping up. I want them to have a solid ending on their own terms. There is a special place in my heart for the Souls games. Not only the gameplay and atmosphere (which many fell in love with), but that magic feeling when they first came out. Brad and Vinny have talked about it before, that period where there is a shroud of mystery over the games. I was always ready for any new Dark Souls 2 content giantbomb put out.

This also creates some interesting possibilities. How will the end of the Souls games be addressed in Dark Souls 3? My interest in DS3 has increased now that I know it is supposed to be "the big closure on the series." And where does From Software go from here? Not that we can even guess at this point.

Anyways, I'm very interested to hear other thoughts. How do you feel about the end of Souls? Any new opinions on Dark Souls 3? The future of From Software?

This is great news. The Souls franchise quickly became one of my favorites, but I'm ready to see From get back to making different stuff. They have a long history prior to putting out Demon Souls. Armored Core, The Adventures of Cookies and Cream, Ninja Blade, just to name a few. I'll be interested to see whatever it is they have lined up next.

Otogi! Otogi, for gods sake.

As long as they put out a game with this formula/gameplay every few years I don't really care what franchise it's part of. Bloodborne was a cool take on one playstyle you could do in Souls, but way more refined and balanced for that playstyle, and in a new setting. Not being tied down under the Souls banner, it'd be cool to see them take that concept and make a spell/ranged weapon game and set it in a sci-fi setting, as an example.

Not that I think that should be their only output, mind. It'd just be a bummer to see them never make another one of "those" games, because nobody else will either.

Good on them!

@teddie: See Lords of the Fallen

Whatever they make next will be functionally similar to the Souls series by necessity (i.e. Bloodborne); though due to being a Japanese developer more leeway is allowed/conceived so we're not going to get 5 more Skyrims under different titles or what have you.

I'm totally down for Sci Fi Souls in the future.

I'm down for futuristic medieval fantasy. Think Nausicaa.

Whatever they do, I hope it's not too similar. The Souls series has a lot of things that bother me.

I'm okay with Dark Souls III being the last souls game, at least for a while. While I doubt they're done with that format entirely, this will let them work on a sequel to that true From Software classic. I'm of course talking about Lost Kingdoms 2. Anyone? No? Just me? Alas, the perils of being a GameCube-only kid.

But seriously, good on them for pumping the breaks before running the format into the ground.

I've been a big fan of FROM for a long time, so while I'm happy for them that they eventually found such success with the Souls games, I'm also really glad to hear them talk of moving away from that. If you look at their output before Souls really took off, it was kind of crazy how varied it was. They had their staple franchises, like Armored Core, but otherwise, they were all over the place in what they created. I'd love to see them get back to that. Maybe leverage the fact that they can say FROM FROM, THE PEOPLE WHO BROUGHT YOU ALL THAT SOULS STUFF to try and get more eyes on some unique stuff.

Call me crazy but I'm fine with it. I think most are on the same page about Bloodborne not competing with the Souls series from a PvP or built diversity perspective. That said, I think that the best game in entire series is Dark Souls 2 SOTFS. It's both harder and better than Dark Souls. It legitimately blows my mind when people fawn over DS1 while complaining about DS2. I guess they don't like being able to roll in 360 degrees? Or is it a PvE thing? I'll never understand. PvP on SOTFS is BY FAR the best of the series. And frankly, it drove me legitimately insane how unresponsive DS1 bosses where to diagonal rolls.

Totally ok with DS3 being the last one. I just hope for they're sake it's no DS2. Would be a shame to end on a sour note especially since the B team is developing it.

Do you think they'll continue the spirit of Dark Souls in a sense by making all their games have the same sense of difficulty?

I'm fine with the series ending too, I think. I hope it's with a bang due to my personal diminishing returns with Dark Souls 2 and Bloodborne. The latter I got bored with pretty fast though I don't know why since it seems like an awesome game.

Anyway I'm super excited to see where FROM goes post Dark Souls 3.

Yeah seriously. a team with this talent needs to tackle different kinds of games (not Bloodborne 2. Try to get away from the rigid action RPG shit.)

The Souls games have quickly become one of my favorite series, and while I hope it's not done forever I'm alright with it being put to bed for now. Dark Souls 3 will be the third Souls style game in three years, and I'd hate to see the series ruined by yearly sequel fatigue. Let them try some new weird stuff. They can always fall back on the Souls games if their new stuff fails.

Also they should make a new Chrome Hounds, or alternatively an Armored Core where the combat is actually as fun as the mech customization.

I agree with others here. I'm fine with them making Dark Souls III a big last hurrah for the series for now. Hopefully it wraps up the lore in an interesting way. I also liked Dark Souls II a ton, so I hope they at least mention things with regards to the lore there too.

Side note: After watching some of the networks tests for Dark Souls III, I think the boss music featured in that beta segment is amongst the best stuff they have put out.

Good for them, the formula was starting to feel a little too predictable.

Can't wait for the next gritty Victorian kart racer from From Software.

I very much hope Souls III is the last one even though I would shamefully buy them annually. I'd love to see what else they can do and as long as the games they create are just as in depth and mechanically complex as the Souls games are I will be down.

Honestly if we were talking about them returning to some other games I'd be down to see them giving Tenchu or Otogi another stab. With their new found funding and critical acclaim they could take those games much further than they were able to before.

I hope that whatever they put out next will interest me so that I can continue supporting them.

*Cough cough*

Armoured Souls and Cream.

It's good to see them not letting themselves get into a rut. They could very easily put out another 3 or 4 of these games before the fans would get fatigued with them.

Good. Souls is fantastic, but I think that accepting an end is a very good thing for a lot of things, such as a TV series, band, or a video game series. However, I have strong doubts that this is the last we'll see of the Action-RPG type gameplay that has now become their signature.
I really want to see them move into Sci-Fi or even Cyberpunk. I'm a big fan of that genre, especially when not everything is spelled out for you and there is a level of mystique maintained. Some excellent examples of this include Texhnolyze, Transistor, Dark City and E.Y.E. Divine Cybermancy. I can totally see them moving into something like that.

'Tis for the best. Souls is a cool formula, but it's a formula. One we'll all get tired of if they tried to force it to keep going at this pace (see Assassin's Creed). It'll mean a whole lot of hype on the line if they come back to it in 5-6 years.

From Software looking to do something different and Hideo Kojima maybe looking to do something different. Well I can dream.

From deserves the benefit of the doubt when it comes to building a new IP. It's just that everything they did before Souls has been not nearly as good. The souls series is basically a whole new genre of games in itself. It was a breath of fresh air (and still is) compared to every power fantasy AAA game out there.

I guess I would be a lot less warry about this news if there was any good contenders to take the Souls torch and run with it. It's just that no one has made a good one of those aside from From Software.

And no, Lords of the Fallen isn't it. That game just showed how you could take any good game concept and replace it with the most generic, bland western fantasy filler.

I'd be fine with this. This series has had a great run. Even the worst entry in the franchise, Dark Souls 2, is still an absolutely incredible game. Assuming 3 turns out to be a good game, let it be the end to the series while the series is still loved. Not everything has to be around for ever. Put it to rest and move on. They're clearly an absurdly talented group of people. They can come up with something else and that something else will probably be fucking awesome.

As much as I love the series, I'm happy to hear that they are willing to end it while it's still going strong rather than going the route of pumping it out until everyone hates it. That's a refreshing change of pace compared to other developers out there. It'll be interesting to see what they do next.

This is the first thing i've heard about DS3 that's made me interested to play it. I loved the other games but after playing Bloodborne the souls games just feel dated to me. Sure there are more viable builds, locations and weapons/armour etc. but the action isnt as fluid or fun and that's the core of the experience. (that and the atmosphere)

Miyazaki seems like a creative guy. Building very similiar games from the same mold over and over seems like a waste of his talents. I'm glad he's running the company because if he wasnt he would've probably been made to drive the franchise he loves into the ground.

Lost Kingdoms was great, another sequel would be a nice surprise indeed. A new Otogi game even more so.

I love all the games in the series but I was starting to worry that they were going to milk this thing until it slowly died off like Rock Band. I'd like to get a new Souls game every three years or so, no need to pump them out like they have been doing. This would free them up to give us something new or maybe another Armored Core. An AC game with maybe a higher budget that they can now afford thanks to the success of the Souls franchise.

Or maybe give me Armored Souls. I'd be OK with that too.

I'll be glad to see them put the traditional Souls series to rest (which hopefully includes Bloodborne for that matter), though I would still like to see Demon's Souls make it to current gen all the same. Maybe with some adjustments to that god awful world/character tendency stuff.

I like Souls a lot, but I don't mind them taking a break after this many games. The Souls series isn't Assassin's Creed by a long shot, but there are a lot of Souls games now. There have been, and will probably be more, games like them made by other people as well. FROM might decide to revisit the formula one day, too.

I wouldn't be surprised if they have another game or two that feels similar to the Souls game. One of their earlier games (King's Field) is very Souls like, but not a Souls game. So they may have something that feels that way in the future again.
But I'm no expert type person guy.

@yummylee I would love for Demons Souls to find its way over to PS4 (or PC, but... well... no.) There are only three games stopping me from selling/trading my PS3 and that's one of them, just give it to me on PS4! C'mon!

I think it's good that they're moving on from the Souls games. I think they've proven the point that people still want a challenge, and the idea other developers have gained inspiration from that is pretty awesome. I am curious what they'll do next though, hopefully it'll be something new altogether.

BRING ON THE MECHA!!!! (I'm only a 1/4 serious about that.)

I see no reason why it couldn't also come to PC, too. Far as I'm aware Sony have no hold over Demon's Souls (unlike Bloodborne for example) and it was probably only released as a PS3 exclusive because of being this niche Japanese thing at the time.

I'm excited for the innevitable Bloodborne 2

big budget mecha game

@yummylee: Oh, okay I thought Sony had a full hold over it so figured it would never see the light of day on a PC, but yeah I suppose that means there is a chance, though after all of this time I wonder if they would care, then again stranger games have wound up on PC that seemed like they never really would so fingers crossed.

Demon Soul's is a weird case because Sony published it in Europe, right?

Pretty sure Atlus is the publisher of the NA release, while Namco-Bandai is the publisher of the European release. Sony published the Japanese version. Dunno if you were asking about this but then the other important detail, I think, is that Sony owns the Demon's Souls IP, helped fund the game, and was in some small way involved in development (so, similar to Bloodborne).

Someone who knows better can feel free to correct me, but I think this is mostly true :D

@yummylee Ok so I was pretty unsure about this but after some quick googling I am confident Sony does own the Demon Souls IP! Here are some "proofs" from varying sources for the heck of it.

• http://www.polygon.com/2013/6/13/4424550/demons-souls-2-shuhei-yoshida-e3
• http://gamerant.com/sony-demons-souls-japan-mole-132811/
• http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=542625

Oh and I forgot to write that there are quite a few rumours about a Demon's Souls HD. Considering we've recently seen some Sony published games appearing/soon to be appearing on PC, maybe it still is possible the game will land there.

Ah, I knew there was some Sony involvement but I thought it was something more obvious than 'we'll help you fund this'.

@zolroyce: What are the other two?

The Ico/Shadow Of The Colossus pack (which I think there could be a possibility it could find it's way to PS4 one day, digital download maybe?) And Tokyo Jungle, whiiiiiiich I'm probably just shit out of luck with that one haha.

I think it's a good thing. Not because I don't like the games, I love them, but it's not good to keep stringing a franchise along.

Too much of a good thing makes it less interesting.

This seems like such a strange way to do business,but I guess it's he current reality.

I would much rather they, shocker, simply don't release sequels in rapid succession. Why not say something like, "Sure they may be more Dark Souls, but not for a very long time." Remember back when Nintendo used to make about one sequel per console generation? That seems healthy and responsible to me.

@bananasfoster: That would be the situation I like best. I don't see myself getting sick of souls any time soon. As others have said, I'm willing to bet this won't be the last souls-like game from them. At the very least I would expect other developers to use the mechanics people loved and mix them with new ideas.

But I'll trust Miyazaki (and From software) on this one. Sad to see it go, but I'm expecting a damn good ending in DS3.

@relkin:You forgot Lost Kingdoms 1 & 2, which are probably my favorite From Software cult classics. Glad to see other people mentioning them. They aren't great games, but they're decent & strange enough to stick out.

And yeah, I'm just fine with them ending the Souls games on 3. I should get back to 2 sometime & play through it.

You heard it first, people. King's Field: Farmland Simulator out in 2017.

I'm hoping that Dark Souls 3 kicks ass and is the last game in the series. I'd also be OK with Bloodborne not having any sequels either. I think knowing when to stop and leaving a legacy of high quality games is something that is admirable in this industry (on a related note I'm really pissed that it sounds like a Last of Us sequel is coming out). Imagine if COD stopped after MW2. I think people in general would look back on those games fondly instead of being tired of a new COD every year. I'd rather have an HD Remaster of COD4 than any new game in the series.

I think From Soft has proven that they are capable of making mechanically superb games with intriguing and enveloping atmospheres, so I'd love to see them do something new while maintaining their high standards.

Awesome. I want to see what else From can really do.

Franchises should end, or at least go dormant until there's a creative spark to bring it back.