FromSoftware's President Miyazaki Opposes Layoffs and Focuses on Development

TapTechNews, Jun 18. There have been frequent large-scale layoffs in the game industry recently. However, Hidetaka Miyazaki, the president of FromSoftware, clearly stated in an interview with PCGamer that he opposes layoffs and emphasizes that the company will focus on development rather than staff optimization.

Miyazaki's remarks are in sharp contrast to the recent industry trend. Although FromSoftware is not an independent studio and its parent company is Kadokawa Group, Miyazaki emphasizes that there is a good cooperative relationship between FromSoftware and Kadokawa. The Kadokawa Group is a strong company that not only has a game department but also is involved in manga publishing and anime production (the recently hit anime 'Dungeon Meshi' is from Kadokawa).

FromSoftware's 'Elden Ring' has achieved tremendous success, with sales exceeding 25 million copies. In the face of such remarkable results, it is generally believed that FromSoftware is unlikely to face the threat of layoffs. However, large publishers such as Electronic Arts, 2K, and Sony have also experienced frequent layoff waves in recent years, which makes players feel a little uneasy about the future of FromSoftware.

In this regard, Miyazaki said, he will never let layoff events happen to FromSoftware employees, 'I'm sure our parent company Kadokawa Group also understands and agrees with this point.'

It is worth noting that FromSoftware not only has not been affected by the layoff wave of Western game companies but also is steadily expanding. Since the development of 'Elden Ring', the studio has significantly increased in scale and can currently carry out the development of multiple projects simultaneously. FromSoftware is not an exception. Capcom also announced this year to increase the salaries of employees instead of layoffs.

TapTechNews noticed that Miyazaki also mentioned the former Nintendo president Satoru Iwata in the interview. Satoru Iwata once took the initiative to reduce his salary to keep the employees when the company was in a loss, which is exactly the corporate management concept that Miyazaki agrees with. He said: 'Mr. Iwata once said, 'People who are afraid of losing their jobs are also afraid of making excellent works,' and I very much agree with his view.'

Miyazaki added, 'I think it's true, and I think the people in our parent company Kadokawa understand that I hold this view very firmly. Although we can't say 100% that... we can't be completely sure what will happen in the future for From and Kadokawa, but as long as I'm still responsible for this company, I won't let such things happen, so I hope our employees and fans can get a little assurance from it.'