Naoki Yoshidadirector of Final Fantasy XIV, has revealed that Square Enix was developing a video game that was “basically Bloodborne“. That’s how clear Yoshida has said for the Famitsu medium (Via ResetEra).
Two Bloodbornes and one destiny
Before starting work on the development of Final Fantasy XIV, a team of Square Enix developers, including Hiroshi Takai, Hiroshi Minagawa and Naoki Yoshida himself, were working on a “pretty tough action game“Similar to what was seen in Bloodborne from FromSoftware, creators of the recent Elden Ring.
Yoshida clarifies that development began before the release of Bloodborne and jokes: “When I first saw Bloodborne, I thought: Where have I seen this before…?”. Next, Minagawa assures that “if we had gone ahead and bloodborne released first we’d probably be freaking out right now“.
The resemblance was such that there were similar weapons and the Gothic style was identical. In addition, the canceled project had “some science fiction elements“The main difference with Bloodborne is that it was not an RPG and that it was intended to be a multiplayer, asymmetrical competitive 4vs1 more like Evolve.
“It was basically Bloodborne plus that system… If we had gone ahead, I think we would still be working on it right now. I think it would have been a great failureYoshida sentences
The project was canceled by Square Enix. The reasons have not been revealed, but Yoshida admits that it was a blessing. He even joked that his team should have worked without him after seeing Bloodborne!
The team is currently developing final fantasy xvi, which is in the final stages of development. In another order, the release of Elden Ring has reopened the debate on whether Bloodborne (PS4) deserves/needs a remake or a remasterand that it arrives on PC.