 | |
Native name | 株式会社フロム・ソフトウェア |
|---|---|
Romanized name | Kabushiki gaisha furomu sofutowea |
| Company type | Subsidiary (kabushiki gaisha) |
| Industry | Video games |
| Founded | November 1, 1986; 39 years ago (1986-11-01) |
| Founder | Naotoshi Zin |
| Headquarters | , Japan |
Key people | |
| Products | |
| Revenue | ¥ 23.50 billion (2024)[1] |
| ¥ 10.08 billion (2024)[1] | |
| ¥ 6.62 billion (2024)[1] | |
| Total assets | ¥ 76.84 billion (2024)[1] |
| Owner |
|
Number of employees | 456 (May 2025) |
| Website | FromSoftware |
FromSoftware, Inc. is a Japanesevideo game developer andpublisher. Founded by Naotoshi Zin on November 1, 1986 as abusiness software developer, the company released their first video game,King's Field, for thePlayStation in 1994. Its success shifted FromSoftware to focus fully on games, with them producing two moreKing's Field games before the first release of themecha shooter seriesArmored Core in 1997.
By the 2000s, FromSoftware's releases included theEcho Night,Shadow Tower,Lost Kingdoms,Otogi, andAnother Century's Episode series. The company achieved breakout success by the 2010s withDemon's Souls and theDark Souls trilogy ofaction role-playing games. Often cited among thegreatest video games ever made, their emphasis onhigh difficulty and environmental storytelling led to the creation of theSoulslike subgenre, which also includes other later FromSoftware titles such asBloodborne (2015),Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice (2019), andElden Ring (2022).
Hidetaka Miyazaki, creator and director ofDark Souls, has served as FromSoftware'srepresentative director and president since 2014, with Zin remaining as an advisor. Miyazaki directs and designs the majority of the company's games in addition to his executive duties. FromSoftware is primarily owned byKadokawa Corporation (70%), with minority stakes by Sixjoy Hong Kong (16%), a subsidiary ofTencent, andSony Interactive Entertainment (14%). FromSoftware usually self-publishes in Japan, and has partnered with international publishers, includingAgetec,Sony,Bandai Namco Entertainment,Sega,Capcom,Nintendo, andKoch Media.
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Founded in Tokyo on November 1, 1986, by Naotoshi Zin, FromSoftware originally began as a developer ofbusiness applications before shifting focus to video games.[2] The company released its first game,King's Field, for the PlayStation in 1994. Despite its commercial success in Japan, the game was not released in other regions, although 1995'sKing's Field II was released in both North America and Europe in 1996.[3] After releasingKing's Field III in 1996, FromSoftware went on to release the horror gameEcho Night and the 1998 role-playing gameShadow Tower. In 1997, FromSoftware releasedArmored Core, the first release in their flagshipArmored Core series of mecha combat games.[4]
With the launch of thePlayStation 2 in 2000, FromSoftware released the role-playing gamesEternal Ring andEvergrace.[4] In 2003, FromSoftware publishedTenchu: Wrath of Heaven, astealth game that combines action and adventure elements.[5] In 2004, FromSoftware bought the rights to the series, excluding the first two games, fromActivision.[6][7] The company also releasedKing's Field IV andShadow Tower Abyss, in addition to theLost Kingdoms series for theGameCube.[4] The company also made a few games exclusive to theXbox around this time, such asMurakumo: Renegade Mech Pursuit,Otogi: Myth of Demons,Otogi 2: Immortal Warriors,Metal Wolf Chaos, andChromehounds. In 2005, FromSoftware would start to produce a series of licensed games based on the variousanime properties under the bannerAnother Century's Episode.[4] The same year, the company hosted the video game industry's first internship that let students experience game development through a game creation kit,Adventure Player, for thePlayStation Portable.[5] In May 2008, FromSoftware underwent a stock split.[5]
FromSoftware achieved breakout success in the 2010s,[5] spurred by the release ofDemon's Souls (2009) andDark Souls (2011), the latter being the first entry in a trilogy whose success led to the creation of a subgenre of action role-playing games known asSoulsborne games.[8] These includeDark Souls II (2014),[9]Bloodborne (2015),[10][11]Dark Souls III (2016),[12]Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice (2019),[13][14] andElden Ring (2022),[15][16][17] all of which have received several awards and are often listed among thegreatest video games of all time.[18][19][20][21] In April 2014, Kadokawa Corporation announced its intention to purchase the company from former shareholder Transcosmos.[22] Following other restructuring,Souls creator Hidetaka Miyazaki would be promoted to company president the following month and later given the title of representative director.[23] In January 2016, FromSoftware established a studio inFukuoka that focuses on creatingcomputer-generated imagery (CGI) assets for their games.[24][25]
In August 2022, Sixjoy Hong Kong (a subsidiary ofTencent) andSony Interactive Entertainment respectively acquired 16.25% and 14.09% of FromSoftware, leaving 69.66% to Kadokawa.[26] In November 2022, a report byGamesIndustry.biz claimed that FromSoftware was paying their employees at sub-standard rates.[27] The company had 423 employees as of June 2024[update].[28] In October 2024, the developer announced a salary increase of approximately 12% for its employees.[29] In April 2025, FromSoftware announcedThe Duskbloods, a multiplayer-focusedsoulslike game directed by Miyazaki for theNintendo Switch 2.[30]
| Year | Title | System | International publisher |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | King's Field | PlayStation | — |
| 1995 | King's Field II | PlayStation | |
| 1996 | King's Field III | PlayStation | ASCII Entertainment |
| 1997 | Armored Core | PlayStation | Sony Computer Entertainment |
| Armored Core: Project Phantasma | PlayStation | ASCII Entertainment | |
| 1998 | Shadow Tower | PlayStation | Agetec |
| Echo Night | PlayStation | Agetec | |
| 1999 | Armored Core: Master of Arena | PlayStation | Agetec |
| Spriggan: Lunar Verse | PlayStation | — | |
| Frame Gride | Dreamcast | — | |
| Echo Night 2: The Lord of Nightmares | PlayStation | — | |
| 2000 | Eternal Ring | PlayStation 2 | |
| Evergrace | PlayStation 2 | ||
| Armored Core 2 | PlayStation 2 | ||
| The Adventures of Cookie & Cream | PlayStation 2 |
| |
| 2001 | Armored Core 2: Another Age | PlayStation 2 | |
| Forever Kingdom | PlayStation 2 | Agetec | |
| King's Field IV | PlayStation 2 | ||
| 2002 | Armored Core 3 | PlayStation 2,PlayStation Portable | |
| Lost Kingdoms | GameCube | Activision | |
| Murakumo: Renegade Mech Pursuit | Xbox | Ubisoft | |
| Otogi: Myth of Demons | Xbox | Sega | |
| 2003 | Silent Line: Armored Core | PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable | Agetec |
| Thousand Land | Xbox | — | |
| Lost Kingdoms II | GameCube | Activision | |
| Shadow Tower Abyss | PlayStation 2 | — | |
| Otogi 2: Immortal Warriors | Xbox | Sega | |
| 2004 | Echo Night: Beyond | PlayStation 2 | |
| Armored Core: Nexus | PlayStation 2 | Agetec | |
| Kuon | PlayStation 2 | ||
| Armored Core: Nine Breaker | PlayStation 2 | ||
| Armored Core: Formula Front | PlayStation Portable, PlayStation 2 | ||
| Metal Wolf Chaos | Xbox | — | |
| 2005 | Yoshitsune Eiyūden: The Story of Hero Yoshitsune | PlayStation 2 | — |
| Another Century's Episode | PlayStation 2 | Banpresto | |
| Armored Core: Last Raven | PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable | ||
| 2006 | Enchanted Arms | Xbox 360,PlayStation 3 | Ubisoft |
| Another Century's Episode 2 | PlayStation 2 | Banpresto | |
| Chromehounds | Xbox 360 | Sega | |
| King's Field: Additional I | PlayStation Portable | — | |
| King's Field: Additional II | PlayStation Portable | — | |
| Armored Core 4 | PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 | ||
| 2007 | Nanpure VOW | Nintendo DS | — |
| Iraroji VOW | Nintendo DS | — | |
| Another Century's Episode 3: The Final | PlayStation 2 | Banpresto | |
| 2008 | Armored Core: For Answer | PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 | Ubisoft |
| Shadow Assault: Tenchu | Xbox 360 | — | |
| 2009 | Inugami-ke no Ichizoku | Nintendo DS | Nintendo |
| Ninja Blade | Xbox 360,Windows | Microsoft Game Studios | |
| Demon's Souls | PlayStation 3 |
| |
| Yatsuhaka-mura | Nintendo DS | — | |
| 2010 | Another Century's Episode: R | PlayStation 3 | Banpresto |
| Monster Hunter Diary | PlayStation Portable | Capcom | |
| 2011 | Another Century's Episode Portable | Namco Bandai Games | |
| Dark Souls | PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Windows | Namco Bandai Games | |
| 2012 | Armored Core V | PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 | Namco Bandai Games |
| Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn | PlayStation 3 | Namco Bandai Games | |
| Steel Battalion: Heavy Armor | Xbox 360 | Capcom | |
| 2013 | Armored Core: Verdict Day | PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 | Namco Bandai Games |
| 2014 | Dark Souls II | PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Windows | Bandai Namco Games |
| 2015 | Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin | PlayStation 3,PlayStation 4, Windows, Xbox 360,Xbox One | Bandai Namco Games |
| Bloodborne | PlayStation 4 | Sony Computer Entertainment | |
| 2016 | Dark Souls III | PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Windows | Bandai Namco Entertainment |
| 2018 | Déraciné | PlayStation 4 (PlayStation VR) | Sony Interactive Entertainment |
| 2019 | Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice | PlayStation 4, Windows, Xbox One,Stadia | Activision |
| 2022 | Elden Ring | PlayStation 4,PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox One,Xbox Series X/S,Nintendo Switch 2 | Bandai Namco Entertainment |
| 2023 | Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon | PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S | Bandai Namco Entertainment |
| 2025 | Elden Ring Nightreign | PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S | Bandai Namco Entertainment |
| 2026 | The Duskbloods | Nintendo Switch 2 | Nintendo |
| Year | Title | Game |
|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Artorias of the Abyss | Dark Souls |
| 2014 | Crown of the Sunken King | Dark Souls II |
| Crown of the Old Iron King | ||
| Crown of the Ivory King | ||
| 2015 | The Old Hunters | Bloodborne |
| 2016 | Ashes of Ariandel | Dark Souls III |
| 2017 | The Ringed City | |
| 2024 | Shadow of the Erdtree | Elden Ring |
| King's Field |
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| Armored Core | |
| Shadow Tower | |
| Echo Night | |
| EverGrace | |
| Lost Kingdoms | |
| Otogi | |
| Another Century's Episode | |
| Dark Souls | |
| Elden Ring | |
| Other games |
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