Xbox Head Breaks His Silence On Elden Ring

Collaborative efforts are the latest trend in video game development. In 2014, Konami amazed audiences with P.T., the overture to what was supposed to be an alliance between Metal Gear maestro Hideo Kojima, visionary director Guillermo del Toro, and manga artist Junji Ito. While that project was unceremoniously canceled, FromSoftware made a similar announcement in 2019 with Elden Ring. However, aside from the initial reveal, not so much as a whisper has creeped from any associated parties — until today.

For those of you who need a reminder, Elden Ring was revealed by publisher Bandai Namco. Riding off the high of both Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice and Game of Thrones, Elden Ring was supposed to marry the skills of Dark Souls 3 director Hidetaka Miyazaki and novelist George R.R. Martin. The game reveal crept out of left field and surprised everyone, as did the complete lack of subsequent news. Not even the July Xbox Games Showcase provided a respite from the cacophonous silence, but FromSoftware hasn't been twiddling its thumbs. According to Head of Xbox Phil Spencer, the studio has been hard at work, and he liked what he saw.

Recently, GameSpot's Tamoor Hussain sat down with Spencer and chatted remotely. Most of the conversation revolved around the Xbox brand and identity. Eventually, however, the conversation shifted to Xbox's presence in the Japanese market, and Hussain asked if Spencer had seen any behind-the-scenes footage of Elden Ring. Spencer did Hussain one better and claimed he played "quite a bit" of the game. Spencer couldn't share any juicy details, but he happily claimed that Elden Ring is Miyazaki's "most ambitious" piece of work, and that Miyazaki is "challenging himself" and "expanding his horizons" with the title. Spencer also had nothing but praise for Elden Ring's gameplay mechanics. What these are, though, he couldn't say.

Moreover, Spencer hasn't just played Elden Ring; he provided direct input. After each gameplay session, Spencer got to share his thoughts with Miyazaki. He couldn't provide play-by-play commentary to Miyazaki since the director always left the room, possibly because Spencer isn't a good player (Spencer's words). Regardless, Spencer loves Elden Ring and Miyazaki's passion.

While Spencer couldn't answer any pressing questions about Elden Ring, he at least confirmed the game is progressing along at a decent pace, and odds are that many FromSoftware fans will enjoy the game. However, the mystery remains when the game will release and whether it will launch on the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 as initially advertised.