Armored Core 6 Will Include From Software’s Signature Giant Boss Battles

From Software isn’t planning to make a sci-fi Soulsborne with Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon, but you can expect the studio to include its signature boss fights in the game when it arrives in 2023. According to director Masaru Yamamura–who served as project lead on Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice–boss battles will be challenging and will require players to tinker with their mechs before they challenge a massive armored core on the battlefield.

“Boss battles are the highlight of the game in this title,” Yamamura said to IGN. “The essence of the battles, in which the player reads the enemy’s moves and then plays games with them, is of course provided, as is typical of From Software. In this title, both the enemy and your own machine are aggressive and violent in their attacks.”

Yamamura added that these “dynamic and intense” boss battles will be complemented by the customization aspects of Armored Core VI, as players will be able to assemble their mechs into boss-slaying machines. Despite the game containing those Dark Souls strands of DNA, other Souls-Like elements won’t be present as studio president Hidetaka Miyazaki emphasized that a conscious effort was being made to focus on the gameplay having highly customizable mecha and speedy combat alongside fine-tuned robot shells for each boss battle.

First announced at The Game Awards 2022, Armored VI: Fires of Rubicon will arrive sometime next year on PC, PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, and Xbox One.