Key keywords: Dark Souls franchise, FromSoftware, Hidetaka Miyazaki, Soulsborne, new Dark Souls project, Bandai Namco, soulslike games, Dark Souls 4, Elden Ring After years of widespread speculation that the beloved Dark Souls franchise had reached its permanent conclusion following the 2016 release of Dark Souls 3 and its final DLC expansion, FromSoftware has officially confirmed that the series is far from finished. The announcement came directly from studio director Hidetaka Miyazaki, the creative lead behind the entire Soulsborne catalog, during a recent wide-ranging interview with Japanese gaming publication Famitsu. First launched in 2011 as a spiritual successor to 2009’s Demon’s Souls, the Dark Souls series redefined the global soulslike genre, introducing millions of players around the world to its signature blend of brutal, rewarding gameplay, immersive atmospheric worldbuilding, and cryptic, layered lore. Across three mainline titles, four large-scale DLC expansions, and a 2018 remaster of the original game, the franchise has sold over 35 million copies globally, making it one of Bandai Namco’s highest-performing and most culturally impactful intellectual properties of all time. For nearly seven years, fans have operated under the assumption that the series had wrapped up its core narrative, with Dark Souls 3’s multiple endings offering a definitive close to the cycle of fire linking and world decay that defined the franchise’s overarching story. Miyazaki had previously stated in post-launch interviews that the studio was moving on to focus on new original properties, which led to the release of critical and commercial hits including 2019’s Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice and the 2022 Game of the Year winner Elden Ring. In the new interview, Miyazaki clarified that while the studio does have several ongoing projects in active development—including the highly anticipated Elden Ring DLC *Shadow of the Erdtree* and two unannounced original IPs—creative teams at FromSoftware have never stopped brainstorming ideas for the Dark Souls universe. He noted that there are still countless unexplored corners of the franchise’s lore, as well as untested gameplay mechanics that would fit perfectly within the Dark Souls framework. Miyazaki did not share any specific details about the upcoming Dark Souls project, including whether it would be a mainline sequel, a standalone spin-off title, or a next-generation remaster of existing games, nor did he offer a tentative release window. Bandai Namco has yet to release a formal public statement alongside Miyazaki’s comments, but industry analysts note that the publisher has repeatedly highlighted the Dark Souls franchise as a core pillar of its long-term content strategy, making a new entry a high priority for both companies in the coming years.