Armored Core fans are looking forward to introducing Souls players to FromSoftware's peculiar mech action series.
FromSoftware has become synonymous with punishingly difficult dark fantasy adventures in recent years, but long before Dark Souls and Elden Ring, the studio was most well-known for its futuristic mecha series Armored Core. At last night's Game Awards, FromSoftware revealed it's returning to the series with Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon.
Armored Core has been absent for quite some time now; the last numbered entry was Armored Core 5, which was released in 2012 and received the standalone expansion Verdict Day a year later. With FromSoftware's popularity skyrocketing over the last decade, the developer has found a lot of new fans keen to give its robot-filled third-person action offering a whirl.
Following the announcement of Armored Core 6, the Armored Core subreddit swiftly filled up comments from fans ecstatic at the news they've been waiting so long for and players with no prior knowledge of the series whatsoever. Far from being a divided forum, though, longtime Armored Core fans are welcoming new players with open arms.
"Can't wait for the new fans!" exclaims Reddit user Sine_Fine_Belli. "Hello! Already arriving!" confirms SoullessLizard. User mmdrew17 sums up the situation for many new players by writing, "Checking in. Never played any of the AC games but fell in love with all the Souls games over the past few years. Definitely gonna check out any game From makes. No idea what to expect jumping into this series, but I'm excited."
For longtime fans, the prospect of the series gaining more traction with a mainstream audience is hugely exciting as it could potentially mean big things for the series going forward. "This is the first time in ever that all eyes will be on an Armored Core game. This is big. This is really big," says DreamDropDistancia. But they're quick to spot a potential flaw to the series' newfound popularity, "Oh, shoot. Those old games are going to skyrocket in price now, aren't they?"
In addition to Armored Core 6, FromSoftware has "multiple new projects" in the pipeline, including a new game helmed by studio president and Elden Ring director Hidetaka Miyazaki. But the developer seemingly isn't done with the Lands Between yet. The open-world epic was crowned Game of the Year at The Game Awards 2022, and in his acceptance speech, Miyazaki teasingly said, "as for Elden Ring, we still have several more things we want to do."
See what other epic adventures are on the horizon with our guide to new games 2022.
