Edit this page Elden Ring visual / Wide view of a fantasy world with stormy skies and a ruined castle and gigantic glowing tree in the background. In the foreground, an armored knight is mounted on a horse. / Image credit: FromSoftware, Inc.
Hidetaka Miyazaki color portrait / Close-up colour portrait photo of Hidetaka Miyazaki, a Japanese man wearing glasses and a polo shirt. / Image credit: FromSoftware, Inc.

Hidetaka Miyazaki

Hidetaka Miyazaki is a Japanese game director and the president of game development and publishing company FromSoftware, Inc. He is best known as the creator of challenging, dark fantasy RPGs including Dark Souls, Bloodborne, and Elden Ring.

Game credits

Personal details

Born
1970
Japan

Personal life

1

Love of cooking

Cooking is one of few non-gaming passions Miyazaki regularly engages in, according to a Game Informer interview. "In daily life, cooking only takes like two or three hours, so that is still doable in everyday life," said Miyazaki. "It's like playing an RPG. I like cooking by taking time, paying attention to all details, gathering the proper equipment, and taking all steps necessary to create something great. The more time and care that is spent, the better the food becomes."

2

Early reading habits

Miyazaki has a love of reading that began in childhood and which he believes has influenced his creative process, according an interview with IGN. Miyazaki: "I always tried to aim higher and read difficult books. What would happen is, although I could read them, sometimes -- because I was so young -- I couldn't read TOO deep into them. Maybe I would understand half of the story? What would happen is that my imagination would help fill the other half, and that imagination element would just blow up ... It kind of relates to what I'm doing in my creations. In addition to that, I studied sociolology and psychology, and, after school, I revisited those themes, and this is the fruit of what you're experiencing now."

3 4

Impoverished childhood

Hidetaka Miyazaki was born in 1970 and grew up in Shizuoka, Japan. Although he had a love of reading, he could not afford books of his own and so made use of public libraries.

Education

4

Social science degree

Miyazaki studied social science at Keio University in Tokyo, Japan.

Career

5

Rise to FromSoftware president

Miyazaki joined FromSoftware, Inc. as a developer in 2004, made his directorial debut with Armored Core 4 in 2006, and became president of the company in 2014.

4

Early career

After finishing university, Miyazaki worked for the American IT company Oracle. Miyazaki told The New Yorker that he took the job only so he could pay for his younger sister's college education.

4

Move into games industry

Miyazaki was not keenly interested in video games as a child, but was inspired to begin working in the games industry after playing the PlayStation 2 adventure game Ico. He joined FromSoftware as a programmer at the age of 29.

Personal views

3

Desire to challenge players

Miyazaki has said he is driven by a desire to create rewarding game experiences. He told the Los Angeles Times: "What I want is for our core users to really get the sense of accomplishment and achievement that comes with overcoming the hardest challenges a game can present. That level of challenge will vary depending on who you’re talking to, but it’s that exhilaration moment. ‘You did it! You overcome a hurdle!’ If they can feel that, I’m happy.”

6

Belief in protecting employees

Miyazaki has stated that he believes corporations should not reduce employee numbers to protect short-term profit margins. "I think it was the old ex-president of Nintendo, Iwata-san, who said that 'people who are afraid of losing their jobs are afraid of making good things.' I'm paraphrasing that, but I totally share this view," Miyazaki told PC Gamer magazine in 2024. "As long as this company [FromSoftware] is my responsibility, that's something I would not let happen."

Recognition and commentary

7

CEDEC special award

Miyazaki received the Japanese Computer and Entertainment Developer Conference's (CEDEC's) "Special Award", equivalent to a lifetime achievement award, in 2022. Other recipients include Shigeru Miyamoto of Nintendo and Dragon Quest creator Yuji Hori.

References

  1. Turi, T. (2015, September 28). Beyond Dark Souls – The Private Life Of From Software's Hidetaka Miyazaki. Game Informer. https://www.gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2015/09/28/beyond-dark-souls-the-private-life-of-from-software-39-s-hidetaka-miyazaki.aspx.
  2. Sliva, M. (2018, January 12). Inside the Mind of Bloodborne and Dark Souls’ Creator - IGN First. IGN. https://www.ign.com/articles/2015/02/05/inside-the-mind-of-bloodborne-and-dark-souls-creator-ign-first.
  3. Martens, T. (2015, January 10). ‘Bloodborne’ designer wants to challenge, not coddle, players. Los Angeles Times. Tribune Media. https://web.archive.org/web/20150110213044/http://herocomplex.latimes.com/games/bloodborne-designer-wants-to-challenge-not-coddle-players/.
  4. Parkin, S. (2022, January 25). Hidetaka Miyazaki Sees Death as a Feature, Not a Bug. The New Yorker. Condé Nast. https://www.newyorker.com/culture/persons-of-interest/hidetaka-miyazaki-sees-death-as-a-feature-not-a-bug.
  5. Matulef, J. (2014, May 21). Dark Souls director now president of From Software. Eurogamer. Gamer Network Limited. https://www.eurogamer.net/dark-souls-director-now-president-of-from-software.
  6. Fenlon, W. (2024, June 17). FromSoftware boss addresses gaming industry layoffs: 'As long as this company's my responsibility, I would not let that happen'. PC Gamer. Future Publishing Limited. https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/fromsoftware-boss-addresses-gaming-industry-layoffs-as-long-as-this-companys-my-responsibility-i-would-not-let-that-happen/.
  7. Stanton, R. (2022, August 4). Fromsoft CEO Hidetaka Miyazaki to receive the top gong from Japan's industry body. PC Gamer. Future Publishing Limited. https://www.pcgamer.com/fromsoft-ceo-hidetaka-miyazaki-to-receive-the-top-gong-from-japans-industry-body/.

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