Elden Ring Director Hidetaka Miyazaki Denies “Foot Obsession” Rumors
Hidetaka Miyazaki has long been a lightning rod for internet theories about what goes into his games—but the latest discussion around his work may be less “fetish” and more symbolism. In a recent interview, the Elden Ring director addressed the persistent rumor that he’s “obsessed with feet,” offering an explanation that frames the recurring imagery as something subconscious and thematic rather than a deliberate fixation.
What Miyazaki said about the “feet obsession” rumor
Miyazaki’s comments center on the idea that the online chatter may not reflect a conscious choice on his part. He suggested that the belief doesn’t seem to come from something he’s fully aware of, and instead could be tied to something in his subconscious that finds a way to show up. He also acknowledged that there’s an internet rumor about him having an obsession with feet, but said he isn’t clear where it originates.
Rather than treating the imagery as a personal quirk, Miyazaki implied it could be his attempt—directly or indirectly—to express a broader human element that’s difficult to describe. He connected this possibility to how certain human traits or relationships can be represented through details like hands and feet.
Why those details fit Miyazaki’s broader themes
In the same discussion, Miyazaki pointed to how concepts such as ruin and rebirth regularly appear across his games. He noted that even he doesn’t always approach these ideas with full conscious control, describing them as thoughts that simply keep returning to his work.
That framing helps explain his approach to recurring visual motifs. If the “foot imagery” keeps showing up, the takeaway from his comments is that it may function as another symbolic language—one that communicates connection to other people, and potentially even to the world itself—rather than a decision to repeatedly include barefoot characters for the sake of it.
FromSoftware’s long list of barefoot characters
Whatever the origin of the rumor, FromSoftware’s catalog offers plenty of examples that make the topic hard to ignore. Across the studio’s games, barefoot designs show up again and again, including:
- The Black Maiden from Demon’s Souls
- Priscilla from Dark Souls
- The Fire Keeper from Dark Souls III
- Sister Friede from Dark Souls III
- Yorshka from Dark Souls III
- The Painter from Dark Souls III
- Quelana from Dark Souls
- In Elden Ring: Rennala, Fia, Miquella, and Morgott among others
Malenia as a standout case
One example often raised in discussions is Malenia. Even though she has lost multiple limbs and relies on prosthetics, the design of her artificial legs still includes barefoot-like detailing. That suggests the motif isn’t limited to “natural” character presentation—it can also appear as part of a deliberate aesthetic choice within the character design process.
So is it really an “obsession,” or a visual tool?
It’s true that many of the most visible barefoot characters in this lineup are women, which may be part of why the rumor gained traction. But the roster isn’t restricted to one gender: Mohg and Hoarah Loux are also cited as male examples.
Put together, the pattern points less toward a single-minded fixation and more toward Miyazaki using barefoot imagery as a recurring visual resource to communicate ideas—consistent with his broader tendency to return to certain concepts, sometimes without fully framing them as conscious decisions.
Whether the “feet obsession” takes on new meaning after more games remains to be seen. For now, the most concrete takeaway is simple: barefoot characters are an unusually persistent design element across Miyazaki’s FromSoftware worlds.
