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Keys to the kingdom: Dark Souls’ director is now From Software’s president

Hidetaka Miyazaki worked on the Armored Core series before Souls.

Japan has two Miyazakis born to build fantastical worlds: one at Studio Ghibli, and another at From Software.

Hidetaka Miyazaki directed development on Demon’s Souls and Dark Souls, and has just now been promoted to company president following From’s acquisition by Killer is Dead publishers Kadokawa.

Want more Dark Souls Here are the best Dark Souls PC mods.

Miyazaki is joined at From’s top table by Demon’s Souls producer Masanori Takeuchi, who has been promoted to a senior managing director role.

Kadokawa said last month that From would work with the publisher’s in-house development and marketing teams to build new games for the Western market. Kadokawa have never published a game overseas before, and previous Souls games were distributed by Namco Bandai internationally.

Much of the early worry that Dark Souls 2 wouldn’t live up to its predecessors was founded in Miyazaki’s absence. The director instead began work on another game – possibly apparent Souls spinoff Project Beast.

In the event, Dark Souls 2 has done amazingly well on PC, dwarfing concurrent Steam player numbers for its parent game. Probably because it’s a winningly obtuse and all-round excellent monster-slashing affair, as our Fraser explained in his Dark Souls 2 review.

Does it match up to Miyazaki’s own efforts, do you think?

Thanks, Gamasutra.