Bandai Namco: "Every publisher has to focus more on their own expertise"

gamesindustry.biz:

2022 was a stellar year for Bandai Namco thanks to Elden Ring's critical and commercial success.

As a result, 2023 felt like it was all going to be about maintaining that momentum. When we ask Bandai Namco Europe CEO Arnaud Muller about how well the company has managed to rise to that challenge this year, he first points to Elden Ring's DLC, the Shadow of the Erdtree, announced earlier this year and due to release soon.

But he also points to Armored Core 6, which he says is the current focus in Bandai Namco and FromSoftware's relationship. As we previously reported right after our interview with Muller at Gamescom, the firm expected Elden Ring's success to have widened Armored Core's audience, and therefore anticipated the title to be a success.

And it's fair to say it has been, with Armored Core 6 topping the UK boxed charts, the US monthly charts, the European listings, and sitting among the best sellers of the year globally.

But FromSoftware's titles continued success is not all there is to Bandai Namco's 2023, Muller wants to highlight.

"We’re very pleased with the portfolio, and the variety of games we have in our portfolio," he says, mentioning Naruto x Boruto Ultimate Ninja Storm Connections, Park Beyond, Sand Land (from Dragonball creator Akira Toriyama), and Little Nightmares 3. "So, that’s a lot of games to follow from last year’s momentum with Elden Ring."

He continues with a smile: "And then [we have] a very small title called Tekken 8 which you may have heard of. [Tekken] has sold more than 50 million copies as an IP, and Tekken 7 sold ten million copies. So, it’s going to be great, it’s going to be big. [It] really takes the fighting genre to a new level… This is as good as it gets in terms of making