Elden Ring Director Responds To Claims He Loves Feet

Elden Ring Director Finally Comments On All The Women's Feet In His Games Published Sep 4, 2026, 6:31 AM EDT James Lucas is an Executive Editor at TheGamer who has worked in professional journalism since 2018. A Newcastle University graduate with a degree in Journalism, Media, and Culture, they have written hundreds of guides, news stories, and original reports, with bylines in IGN, NME, GaymingMag, and VG247, sourcing interviews with studio heads, legendary industry figures, prominent actors, and more. An expert on FPS games, Soulslikes, RPGs, and survival horror, James has intimate knowledge of a wide variety of titles, providing in-depth coverage and exclusive profiles. Some of the games they have extensively covered include: Half-Life 3, Counter-Strike, Elden Ring, and Fallout. They pride themselves on their consistently thorough research, leveraging nearly a decade of industry experience. You can reach them at James.t@thegamer.com Sign in to your TheGamer account Hidetaka Miyazaki is known for his liminal, dystopian worlds. Ruined civilizations erected on the skeletons of bygone people, dotted with miserable miscreants who chuckle through gritted teeth at forlorn warriors facing insurmountable odds. Cycles repeat and old wounds reopen. There’s a thread through Demon’s Souls to Bloodborne to Elden Ring — a signature style. And then there’s feet. A lot of feet. It’s become a running joke over the years that Miyazaki has a thing for toes. NPCs, bosses, nobody is exempt. The Maiden in Black walks around barefoot, Crossbreed Priscilla waits in the Painted World with her ravenous dogs out, and Malenia even has sculpted golden toes. It’s an enigma. But, finally, in an interview with TheGamer’s former editor-in-chief Kirk McKeand for The Guardian, Miyazaki addressed the rumors. And I can’t tell if the confusion is Miyazaki embodying the unreliable narrator of his games, or genuine bewilderment that the internet thinks he’s fascinated by women’s feet. "I'm Not Sure Where This Comes From" Unprompted, when asked about the recurring motif of hands throughout his games, Miyazaki said, “It’s not necessarily something I’m consistently aware of — maybe it’s something subconscious coming through. Take a look online and there’s a rumor that I have a bit of a thing for feet, but I’m not honestly sure where this comes from. I feel like I’m trying to depict some side of human nature or the human existence that is difficult to describe.” McKeand notes that Miyazaki-directed games have featured at least six barefoot women, practically making him the Tarantino of the industry. But it doesn’t appear to be a deliberate fascination — an internal quota he sneakily gets FromSoftware designers to hit. ‘Yeah… but have we considered that this woman shouldn’t have boots on?’ There may even be something human about that physical connection and intimacy. Or maybe he just likes feet. This is hardly the article to wax lyrical about the optimism found in despair that FromSoftware’s worlds leave us grasping for. The real takeaway is that Miyazaki has seen the memes. He knows we’re all joking about his loving feet every single time a cutscene pans just a little too far down and we see toes. Systems Released November 12, 2020 ESRB M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Violence Developer(s) Bluepoint Games Publisher(s) Sony Engine Proprietary Engine Multiplayer Online Multiplayer Franchise Dark Souls