Development on Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon is being led by game director Masaru Yamamura, who previously served as the main combat designer on Sekiro: Shadows Twice, an infamously aggressive action-RPG in the From Software library. Will Armored Core 6 inherit any of the technical DNA of that game, which has a distinctive feel when compared to games like Dark Souls, Bloodborne, or Elden Ring? According to Yamamura, while some elements of From Software’s Souls-like formula are present in the new Armored Core, it’s the “highly dynamic and aggressive combat” of Sekiro that lives on in a sequel where corporations and private military companies battle each other in all-out mechanized warfare.
“Some elements that you might see some indirect comparisons with, not just with Sekiro but with the previous titles, are these elements of going into battle and having to observe your enemies and observe their patterns and respond accordingly,” Yamamura told GameSpot. “Use your ingenuity to overcome these challenging situations. And particularly, one element that carries indirectly from Sekiro is this more highly dynamic and aggressive combat setting. So that’s something we wanted to incorporate into Armored Core this time as well.”
For Armored Core 6, Yamamura says that development on the game was initially spearheaded by From Software creative director Hidetaka Miyazaki and the studio’s core team, and once the initial direction, world-building, and setting for the game had been established, he was handed control of the project to work on. Assembly once again plays a key part in the game–especially if you want to embrace the mercenary lifestyle–and for this game, Yamamura already has a favorite build.