Hidetaka Miyazaki named one of Time Magazine’s 100 most influential people of 2023

Time Magazine has named Dark Souls and Elder Ring creator Hidetaka Miyazaki as one of the most influential people of 2023.

The magazine puts out its list of the 100 most influential people annually, and this year, the FromSoftware boss made the list with Naughty Dog’s Neil Druckmann adding comment.

“Miyazaki’s games make the player feel accomplished and smart—and it’s all thanks to his and his team’s uncompromising approach,” said Druckmann. “He refuses to overexplain the mechanics or the lore, but rather puts his trust in the player to figure it out on their own.

Miyazaki joined FromSoftware in 2004 as a designer for the Armored Core series before taking over a failing internal project that would later become known as Demon’s Souls.

After the game’s spiritual successor, Dark Souls released in 2011, Miyazaki was promoted to company president in 2010. He wears many other hats, as he is also the firm’s creative director, one of its designer, a scriptwrter, and representative director.

Father of the Soulslike genre, other games directed by Miyazaki include the critically acclaimed Bloodborne, Sekiro, and multiple Game of the Year award winner Elden Ring.