FromSoftware states that there were originally open-world elements, but they were ditched in order to avoid comparisons between the upcoming Armored Core 6 and Elden Ring. Armored Core was FromSoftware's most prolific and long-running franchise before the Demon Souls and Soulsborne genre busters, though the mecha action series took a hiatus after 2013's Armored Core 5. This made Armored Core 6's reveal at the 2022 Game Awards a massive surprise, especially when FromSoftware had launched Elden Ring earlier in the year.
Armored Core 6's launch is now only a few months away, with fans having a clear picture of what to expect. Unlike Elden Ring, this game will not utilize an open world but rather is an evolution of the Armored Core franchise's mecha-piloting gameplay. This includes driving through several areas and fighting various robots with a variety of weaponry, including melee and gunlike weapons, along with emphasizing movement. It also features a bigger focus on melee combat, which is featured in the release date trailer. According to the developers, however, the game could have been an open world like Elden Ring but chose not to in order to avoid the comparisons.
Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon director Masaru Yamamura commented on this in an interview regarding the mecha action game, where the interviewer noted it was sticking to the series' mission-style system. Yamamura stated that while they were developing the sequel, there were some opinions to make it within a completely different gameplay style, maybe in the same vein as the Souls series or Elden Ring. They however came to the conclusion that making Armored Core into something that centered on movement and exploration like the former two games would be an ill fit, and it wasn't what the series was about.
He elaborates that the gameplay of a typical game in the franchise combined with exploration elements was determined to be incompatible. As such, Armored Core 6 looks to go back to its roots, where the appeal is in customizing and assembling a powerful mecha that can be used to tackle the missions provided. Furthermore, the mecha's speed and directional movement are quite different from Elden Ring, with boosters allowing players to reach high altitudes, and acceleration that is affected by the parts used.
Speaking of Elden Ring, FromSoftware is also hard at work developing its first post-launch content, the Shadow of Erdtree DLC. There's currently no release date set for it yet, but it is suspected to release in late-2023. Armored Core 6 however is only a little over two months from release, with it being a very different beast that FromSoftware fans can tackle.
Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon launches August 25 for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.