Armored Core VI Producer Talks about Difficulty, Mech Customization, Action, Online Elements and More

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Today, Bandai Namco held a live broadcast from the Taipei Game Show in Taiwan featuring Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon producer Yatsutaka Ogura.

Ogura-san began by explaining that FromSoftware never intended to have such a big gap between Armored Core: Verdict Day in 2013 and the next game in the series. During this time, they have made many games, and many key developers have matured into their roles. Many of the staff have always wanted to create a new Armored Core game, including Ogura-san and FromSoftware president Hidetaka Miyazaki himself, so no one doubted a return to the series. The only real hurdle was that the company always had so many games in the works and had to make sure its resources were allocated appropriately. Because of this, it took the developers quite a while to reach the stage where they were ready to start working on a new AC game.

Miyazaki-san’s role in the game is “Original Game Director”, which means exactly what it says. He led the early stages of the game’s development, working alongside many developers such as Kenneth Chan, who co-directed and produced Fires of Rubicon, to lay the groundwork for the game. This includes map design, action basics, and other core elements that underpin the game.

As a key point in the game’s development, FromSoftware wants to use the company’s experience and know-how to give players more freedom in what they can do with controls and customization. Changing parts affects gameplay, and action and customization work together. Determining the parameters that define the relationship between these two elements was critical.

Ogura-san also mentions that one of the biggest differences from previous games is that FromSoftware had the freedom to spend more on development and resources. In addition, the studio developed numerous other games between Verdict Day and Fires of Rubicon, including Dark Souls 2, Dark Souls 3, Déraciné, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, and Elden Ring. While developing these games, the developers have accumulated a lot of experience and know-how, which they used in Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon.

There is no direct connection to previous games in the series like Armored Core V in terms of the actual storyline, so you don’t need to play them to enjoy VI. That being said, the core element, focusing on free assembly and customization of parts to create your own mech, remains a “significant part” of the new game. This aspect of the series was prioritized during development, and it was combined with the know-how and experience gained from developing renowned FromSoftware games to create an all-new Armored Core action game that the developers believe will satisfy its users.

This will be a beginner-friendly game (meaning it will be beginner-friendly who haven’t come across the series before). More details will be revealed in the future, but new users may find the mech customization system very detailed and complex. It can take a long time to get used to. As such, there are a number of features that will help make mech customization more intuitive and logical than past games in the series.

The name Rubicon Lights is part of a world created specifically for the game, which takes place on a planet called Rubicon 3. The story begins with the discovery of a mysterious new material on this planet, and the bulk of the story revolves around the control of this material between various corporations and organizations. The player is an independent mercenary working in the fires of this conflict, completing a series of missions.

The original trailer showed off a weapon called the Pile Bunker, which can be thrust into an enemy from close range, and quadrupedal legs from previous games. The trailer actually hides a lot of new information about the game, and a closer look might provide some clues and give veteran players some ideas as to what they can do in terms of strategy, so Ogura-san hopes we’ll watch this a few once.

The developers wanted to create a game that would challenge players, and Ogura-san is confident that they succeeded. However, Armored Core VI’s approach to difficulty is slightly different from other FromSoftware games. The key element of the series is the customization and combination of different parts, and this is the key to overcoming difficulties in the game. However, they have also developed a game that rewards performing the most appropriate actions to beat the odds and achieve a sense of accomplishment.

Ogura-san thinks we’ll be very pleased with the intensity of the boss fights, which have always been the highlights of the series. This has been preserved in Fires of Rubicon by using many of the same techniques that have been successful in the past. Boss fights in FromSoftware games require you to keep a close eye on enemy behavior and catch little signs that will tell you when to attack and the best course of action, and that’s the case with this new game as well. That’s why Ogura-san is so confident that fans will find boss fights extremely entertaining.

Thanks to the piloted mech, the movements of both the player and enemies are extremely dynamic and aggressive. Attack range often changes from melee to long range and then back to melee to keep players on their toes.

Due to the emphasis on dynamic action, the story mode is only single-player, but the developers plan to implement online battles in the arena. More information about this will be published in the future. You can also create your own emblems like in previous games and share them online for other players to use. In addition to the functional parts, you can also freely customize the colors and characteristics of your mech, allowing you to customize the original mech in both performance and appearance.

Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon will be released in 2023 for PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One and PC.