Dark Souls developer FromSoftware is preparing their upcoming action-adventure, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, which we now know, was originally planned as a Tenchu game. Although the game still sets in the 16th century, Sekiro has “really evolved into its own thing”.

In an interview with GamesIndustry.biz, FromSoftware Community Manager Yasuhiro Kitao discussed on why Activision was interested in publishing Sekiro. Producer (Activision) Robert Conkey said, “When FromSoftware knocks on your door and says ‘hey, we wanna make a game,’ you have only one answer right?”, while FromSoftware had a different opinion.

Yasuhiro discussed how they took the game to several companies when it was initiated. “We don’t have the clout to publish outside of Asia and Japan, and so Activision was one of the companies we approached and one of the companies who said they would like to talk”, Yasuhiro said.

Activision loved the idea and respected FromSoftware’s vision. It’s rare amongst publishers to put their trust in newer projects so early on, but with FromSoftware’s flawless success with the Dark Souls franchise, Activision bet on the winning horse.

Yasuhiro also explained how Sekiro evolved from being just a Tenchu game to something of its own. They wanted to explore the Japanese culture and base a game on the traditional themes. In several interviews, FromSoftware mentioned how they’ve decided to pause, more or less, completely stop the Dark Souls franchise, for the sake of exploring new settings and opportunities.

“So from that we started going in the direction of the shinobi and ninja, and of course Tenchu was an IP with that history; that was the original impetus for this project”, Yasuhiro commented.

“But as we developed and as we partnered with Activision, and started building it together, it started becoming its own thing and the game we wanted to make was no longer just Tenchu, so it really evolved into its own thing.”

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is due on 22nd March 2019 for PC, PS4 and Xbox One. If you’re already in love with the game, feel free to come back for more intriguing news.

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