Masaru Yamamura will helm the next installment of FromSoftware's 25-year-old mecha series, Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon. Yamamura has previously served as a lead game designer in Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, and he worked as a designer on Bloodborne and various Dark Souls games. According to the Steam page of the new Armored Core game, Yamamura helmed the development process after the president of FromSoftware, Hidetaka Miyazaki, stepped down from being the initial game director.
Miyazaki confirmed that a new Armored Core game was in the works back in 2016, but the incredible success of FromSoftware's other titles has shifted the attention from the long-running series. With rumors surging from time to time, it appears that the publisher/developer finally deemed that it was ready to announce the long-awaited mecha game. And the game's page on Valve's storefront offers a brief bit of info about the development team. "Miyazaki will be involved as the Initial Game Director. Based on the initial development, Yamamura has taken over as Director," reads the description.
Yamamura is a FromSoftware veteran who worked across multiple titles including Dark Souls 3 and Dark Souls: Remastered. He served in the development of the games' critically acclaimed combat mechanics, which were considered one of the best aspects of the titles. It is also worth noting that he served on multiple Armored Core games in the past, first as a planner and later as the game director of Armored Core 4 and Armored Core: For Answer.
FromSoftware hit big at this year's game awards as its magnum opus, Elden Ring, was crowned as The Game of the Year. Even though the title's incredible success has conquered the gaming industry, the game giant has already reloaded its arsenal for 2023 with its next big project. While there is no word on a definitive release date, the next main installment of the esteemed mecha series will arrive sometime next year. It will land on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Steam.