Sekiro Shadows Die Twice Publisher Gave Full Control to FromSoftware

It was more than a little surprising when it was announced that FromSoftware’s newest game, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, was being published by Activision. For starters, it was the first western publisher the developer partnered with since 2009 and, despite being one of the most financially successful publishers, it also has somewhat of a negative reputation with some gamers. However, FromSoftware Yasuhiro Kitao maintains that the partnership is a positive one. In fact, Activision was so on-board with its vision that it essentially gave FromSoftware free reign on the project.

“[Activision has] given us all creative control of the project,” Kitao told Game Informer when discussing the Activision partnership. “Everything past the start screen is From’s jurisdiction.”

Considering that Activision’s partnership with Destiny developer Bungie recently ended after tensions between the two parties, many had some concerns. However, both Activision and FromSoftware see this as a mutually beneficial partnership. As one of the biggest publishers in the world, Activision has a lot of reach that can help FromSoftware make its game the best it can. With large user research and quality assurance teams, Activision was able to assist in “user testing” and “offering feedback in regards to usability.”

FromSoftware brings with it a large and passionate fanbase, something that immediately made a partnership attractive for Activision. The deal comes at time where the publisher is trying to diversify its library, as well. “Sekiro adds something very different and special to our lineup of games,” Activision senior product and marketing director Michelle Fonseca said.

According to Kitao, Activision “showed the most keen interest,” in FromSoftware’s proposal for Sekiro, which was first envisioned as a Tenchnu game. So the deal really does seem like a win-win for both parties. And just to be clear, there’s no need to worry about microtransactions in this game, either.