Armored Core VI New Details Revealed

Another of my favorite announcements from this year’s Game Awards came from FromSoftware. Hot off the heels of winning Game of the Year with Elden Ring the studio announced their next project to be Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon.

If you’ve never heard of this franchise, that’s probably because it’s been quite a while since it was on the market. Armored Core is a series of mecha, third-person shooter games first released back in July of 1997. The last game in the series Armored Core: Verdict Day was released back in 2013. It’s a series that was one of From Software’s first, created just after their debut series King’s Field. What intrigues me the most is the fact that this franchise shares virtually nothing in common with the Dark Souls gameplay the studio is now famous for.

Although the Game Awards trailer was strictly cinematic, FromSoftware has stated in an interview with IGN that this new entry in the series will share gameplay with the rest of the titles within the franchise. President of FromSoftware, Hidetaka Miyazaki commented that the game will double down on third-person shooting, high-intensity combat, and mech customization.

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice director Masaru Yamamura also weighed in stating that, “dynamic and intense boss battles will be the highlight of the game.” This certainly comes as no surprise given the studio’s notoriety for creating some of the most punishing and memorable fights within the industry.

I’m greatly looking forward to seeing some more diversity in FromSoftware’s game library. I’ve never been the biggest fan of the souls like formula and am glad this title is moving away from that design space and instead embracing the best parts of mecha combat. I’ll definitely be looking to play this. Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon will be released in 2023 for PC, PlayStation 4/5, Xbox One, and Xbox series X