FromSoftware reveals first details for Armored Core 6

Miyazaki and game director Masaru Yamamura recently sat down with IGN to share details about the upcoming game. First off, Miyazaki will take a step back and assign game-directing duties to Yamamura. The new director has been a long-time game designer for FromSoftware, previously working as the lead designer for Sekiro: Die Twice.

According to Miyazaki, Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon will focus more on a single-player campaign compared to its predecessors. The upcoming game will not feature a true open-world setting and retain the mission-based approach that defined the series.

"The essential direction of [Armored Core VI] was to go back and take a good look at the core concept of Armored Core and what made that series special," Miyazaki shared. "So, we wanted to take the assembly aspect, assembling and customizing your own mech — your AC — and then being able to exact a high level of control over the assembled mech. So, we wanted to take those two core concepts and reexamine those in our modern environment."

"Boss battles are the highlight of the game in this title," Yamamura revealed. "The essence of the battles, in which the player reads the enemy's moves and then plays games with them, is of course provided, as is typical of FromSoftware. In this title, both the enemy and your own machine are aggressive and violent in their attacks. We are developing the game so that players can enjoy the dynamic and intense boss battles that only mechas can offer, along with the unique aspects of AC, such as how to assemble the right parts to take on the strongest enemies."

Yamamura said the new title will still focus on "really intense and tough mecha battles." The difficulty will vary from mission type and will have "some nice tempo changes and some nice balance to the difficulty and the level of challenge."

Miyazaki also stated that Armored Core 6 will incorporate lessons learned from Elden Ring. "We didn't want to lower the level of challenge or dumb it down, so instead we wanted to increase the level of freedom," Miyazaki explains. "We wanted to introduce more people to that style of game and wanted more people to enjoy that. So, I don't know personally if it was successful or if it had a hand in that, but that's what we set out to do."

In a nutshell, Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon will have the core gameplay of the series and will add the learnings from the past decade of Souls games. Like Elden Ring, the game will satisfy returning Armored Core veterans but also attract new fans to the series.

Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon will be launching on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S in 2023.