Dark Souls 3 producer Atsuo Yoshimura appears to suggest that Dark Souls VR is in the work, saying that FromSoftware is 'hoping' to bring the franchise to virtual reality headsets.

Over the years, fans of FromSoftware's incredibly difficult action RPG series Dark Souls have found unconventional ways to play the game. In addition to players beating Dark Souls' ultra-hard bosses with their voices and even using their feet on the controller, Dark Souls 3's final boss has been beaten with a dance pad and another player beat the first Dark Souls with a Guitar Hero peripheral.

But although fans seem perfectly content in finding their own ways to get through the game, series' developer FromSoftware could be working on a new way to play Dark Souls of its own. In a pre-show livestream at the 2016 Golden Joystick Awards, Dark Souls 3 producer Atsuo Yoshimura was asked "What’s your take on VR, are you for or against – do you like the idea of it. Are we going to see Dark Souls in VR?” by host Julia Hardy. Yoshimura replied "Errr yes….we’re hoping, we’re hoping," seeming to indicate that Dark Souls VR is in the works.

Many fans will be unsurprised by the suggestion that Dark Souls VR may be in development as this isn't the first time FromSoftware has indicated its interest in virtual reality gaming. Dark Souls 2 director Yui Tanimura previously said that the franchise would work 'well' with virtual reality headsets, while a video uploaded to the official FromSoftware YouTube channel earlier this year seemed to suggest that the developer's next project would have PlayStation VR support.

Although FromSoftware is also working on a new IP, and doesn't appear to have plans for a sequel to Dark Souls 3, the developer may well be taking previously released Dark Souls gameplay and reimagining it for virtual reality.

For fans disappointed at the prospect of no truly new Dark Souls gameplay, Dark Souls VR would at least give them a new way at taking on the series. As with voice controls and dance pad controllers, virtual reality gameplay would help the series live on and for the fun to continue even when the updates will not.

The release of Dark Souls VR would be a huge win for the virtual reality industry as having such a big name franchise using the technology gives gamers who may not have considered VR tech – but are big fans of the Dark Souls games – a reason to take interest. Undoubtedly, titles in established franchises, such as Batman: Arkham VR and the Star Wars: Battlefront VR experience for PlayStation VR, give wary gamers pause for thought.

Source: VRFocus