It doesn’t take an expert to notice that Elden Ring has proved a successful venture for both publisher Bandai Namco Entertainment and developer From Software, but if anyone ever doubted it, CEO Nao Udagawa explained that the third-person action RPG recorded “the best ever sales” for the company.
Elden Ring benefited not just from the growing popularity of the soulslike subgenre and the Dark Souls trilogy, which firmly established developer FromSoftware as a studio capable of consistently delivering quality releases, but also George R. R. Martin’s involvement in creating the universe’s lore. The game almost reached a concurrent user peak of 1 million on Steam alone at launch.
Elden Ring records “best ever sales” for Bandai Namco
“I believe one of the notable ones is Elden Ring, which we have developed in collaboration with FromSoftware,” Udagawa said when asked about her view on the company’s most important recent successes in an interview with The Game Business. “In terms of sales figures, we have recorded the best ever in Bandai Namco brand [history], and that in itself is an achievement.
“But not only that, with the Elden Ring brand we have released various different games, and that shows that the world has been celebrated among the fans […] and we have managed to really capture them in this world that we have created. “
In July, the publisher announced that Elden Ring had shipped 30 million copies since its 2022 launch. The Shadow of the Erdtree DLC reached the milestone of shipping 10 million copies, while Elden Ring Nightreign, its standalone co-op-focused spinoff, shipped 5 million copies as it continued to draw a healthy community of players to its servers daily.
Bandai Namco Entertainment’s collaboration with FromSoftware began before the soulslike sub-genre found its footing, when the two companies collaborated on the release of Demon’s Souls in 2009. Udagawa notes that “the length of our successful collaborations has really been the key,“ when asked about the secret behind the two companies’ long-lasting relationship.
“What both companies have, mutually, is that we are aiming to exceed fans’ expectations always. So, FromSoftware works extremely hard on development, and we do our best in terms of global marketing. I think both sides’ really hard work and dedication have managed to capture and bring out the best and that seems to work out well for the fans.“
Elden Ring Nightreign is about to receive its first DLC, The Forsaken Hollows, on December 4, 2025.
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