Elden Ring's eagerly anticipated Shadow of the Erdtree expansion is out Friday, 21st June, and will close the book on this current chapter of FromSoftware history. As the influential studio begins to look beyond Elden Ring, it seems like anything is possible, including a greater focus on the co-operative aspects of its games.
Speaking to PC Gamer, FromSoftware director Hidetaka Miyazaki was asked about the extremely popular Seamless Co-Op mod on PC, which allows players to summon each other for a more traditional co-operative experience, not bound to bosses or limited to specific areas. Miyazaki's response is quite promising: "It's definitely not something we actively oppose or want to downplay, wanting to go through the whole game together. In terms of where we were with Elden Ring, it was simply a case of wanting that more loose, casual style — drop in, defeat a boss, drop out. It doesn't put any technical restrictions on the player; it just lets them complete this focus and then move on, so to speak."
Previous From efforts have required a consumable item to engage in jolly cooperation with others. Rolling through the game world of a theoretical Elden Ring sequel with a crew of hardened killers at your back would obviously need to be accounted for, but Miyazaki seems up to the task: "That's not to say we won't consider other ways like you and your friend played, from beginning to end, total co-op — that's not to say we won't consider ideas like that with our future games."