Alongside EA, Activision is the other big publisher that often has its name dragged through the mud on gaming websites and forums across the internet. As such, there's been a slight air of doubt surrounding Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice since it was revealed. Another bloody action title from FromSoftware, just why is Activision publishing this thing? Is it going to be stuffed with microtransactions? What's the catch? These are the questions that people have been asking for months now.
As time has gone on, the reasoning has seemed less and less nefarious, and FromSoftware's manager of marketing and communications Yasuhiro Kitao backs that up while talking to Game Informer. "Activision actually showed the most keen interest in the project proposal," Kitao says. It simply sounds like Activision wanted to add something "different" to its portfolio, and likewise, the developer was looking to expand its relations, and approach its next project in a new way.
"[Activision] offered to help us with areas that we don’t consider our expertise, such as user testing, offering feedback in regards to usability, things like this," Kitao explains. Indeed, Sekiro is looking to be a little more approachable than the studio's recent works, namely the Dark Souls series.
Apparently, FromSoftware sends Activision slices of Sekiro every week, so that it can be tested by new players who provide valuable feedback. However, Kitao reiterates that the Japanese developer still has the final say on things: "[Activision has] given us all creative control of the project".
Interesting stuff, and it'll be even more interesting to see how Sekiro is handled when it launches in March.
[source gameinformer.com]
Comments 17
Makes sense, I hope it isn’t too handholdy though, part of the fun of FS’s previous games have just been figuring things out yourself.
No floating waypoints and enemy tagging/X-ray vision I hope!!
I really wanna buy this game but I have no faith Activision. I would've pre-ordered ASAP if they weren't involved. Let's see if Activision can go without forcing microtransactions in this.
I refuse to buy anything from Activision. For Sekiro and From Software I may make an exception for a deep discount or a used copy, but even then my interest is incredibly low.
Pfffft, jog on Activision.
The only titles Acti seems to litter with garbage are their mainstays. Crash was legit, so was Spyro, hopefully they just seem an opportunity to market this style game better to the masses and make some scratch. Or...they are preparing to offer From a boatload of cash for the IP or the Company....imagine Souls with lootboxes...ugh
Activision single player game is actually good, crash nsane trilogy, spyro reignited, and ctr remaster. It's their "big" game (cod and destiny) that suffers from rampant microtransaction/lootbox/season pass.
I believe sekiro will be a good game too with no mtx, lootbox, etc.
@Nyne11Tyme Spro wasn’t all on the disc, so I’d agrie they goofed that more than Ubi or Bethesda games at launch personally speaking.
That being said, I think FromSoftware does have the creative control they want and need, so the game will be fine.
@Nyne11Tyme you do know fs is owned by kadokawa.
Speaking as someome who actually works in technology validation testing, it’s an enormously underrespected field, in the sense that developers really don’t want to deal with it, and tend to be more than happy to believe someone who comes along and says “Just leave it to me.”
What this usually means in practice is that a fundamental aspect of design - determining and applying what “working correctly” actually means for the product - is farmed out from people who don’t really want to deal with it to people who don’t really care about it, who then get the job done by throwing it at whatever down-on-their-luck contractors they can pull off the street to work for peanuts.
Good luck with that, FromSoftware.
@wiiware Correction Activision Blizzard remasters are good. 😜
I love the excuse but be honest please its just the massive amounts of cash dropped. There is nothing wrong with that but dont give me that nonsense. 🤓
@Frigate I second the motion and also would like my free copy. Post-haste.
there is more to this story and it is pretty simple. fromsoftware has developed and published several tenchu games... sekiro was originally going to be a tenchu game, but it later turned into a new IP according to fromsoftware. activision owns the IP to tenchu... naturally both companies would be destined to work together in this context. why are people surprised by activision publishing sekiro if they were the original IP holder of tenchu?
i just think that its really strange to see something like this "Kitao reiterates that the Japanese developer still has the final say on things", if the game its from From Software why Activision would have some word on anything?
Every time I see this type of declaration i cant stop think that it has somenthing shady under the table
@Fath although not in the industry, this is exactly what i was going to post to explain what they seemed to be giving up. Claiming final decisions are up to them is meaningless if they only have garbage input from testers, etc, unless we are to believe they'd actually cancel it in that scenario (which is unlikely unless it gets imto development hell & many many years beyond schedule).
I did see that 'in game purchases' are listed on the PSN product description for Sekiro. Could be just DLC, but I doubt it. I'm nervously optimistic.
I do think the whole Publisher/Developer relationship is misunderstood. There are so many scenarios when it comes to games. If this is a case that From Software had a fully fledged idea for the game, came to Activision with a solid business plan and Activision decided to invest because they could see a profit then that is how they relationship should work. If Activision asked From to develop them a new game that could be heavily monetized or cashed in for a trend and that was tied into the publishing deal, then that is different.
Yeah right, the second I look away from the TV screen, bam! They'll have harvested all my internal organs and made me pay for the privilege. I am not so easily fooled!
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