The Soulsborne games were “the only real obstacle” preventing Armored Core 6

techradar.com:

It’s been ten years since the release of the last Armored Core game, the series that FromSoftware was best known for before it released Dark Souls in 2011. 

Set in a future where great big mechs are piloted by mercenaries fighting it out in a hellscape of permanent warfare, it’s hard not to get excited about Armored Core 6. However, It turns out we would have had our robot-loving hands on it sooner if it weren’t for the success of the Soulsborne games.

FromSoftware finally revealed Armored Core 6at the 2022 Game Awards after years of Soulsborne games, such as Elden Ringand Dark Souls 3. Ten years after the release of Armored Core: Verdict Day in 2013, it sure did take FromSoftware a while to get back to it. 

“There was never any intention to leave this large a gap [between Armored Core games],” producer Yasutaka Ogura told Haruka Mori in an interview(opens in new tab) with BNE Fun Live. As many who worked at FromSoftware “have always wanted to create a new Armored Core title”. But unfortunately, there were just a few barriers in the way. 

“The only real obstacle [...] was that our company always had so many different titles on the go”, Ogura said. So thanks to all those pesky critically acclaimed Soulsborne games, we’ve had to wait a decade for Armored Core 6, but I suppose that’s the price you pay for Elden Ring, Bloodborneand the like.

Put any dreams of a Soulsborne take on mechs in a box, however. “We've not been making a conscious effort to try to direct [Armored Core 6] towards more Soulsborne type gameplay,” executive director Hidetaka Miyazaki told IGN(opens in new tab).

Instead, the next title in the series looks to celebrate and build off of everything this franchise is best loved for, even if the exact