Fromsoft kind of hit that well before Elden Ring. Dark Souls and Sekiro are challenging as hell and they all did over 5 million copies.
They're also multiplatform.
We'll see how well Returnal does on PC and then we'll see how much budget and what direction they go into with their next game, right now there are only a handful of studios within PlayStation that can put out 5 million sellers on a predictable basis.
I do think that ultimately, they're going to be built out to be the next tier of developer for Sony, along with Bluepoint.
S Tier
Naughty Dog, Insomniac, Santa Monica
A Tier
Guerrilla Games, Sucker Punch
B Tier
Polyphony Digital, Media Molecule
C Tier
Bluepoint, Housemarque, San Diego, Team Asobi
D Tier
Bend, Firesprite
Rankings based on commercial success in the last 10 years, balanced with critical acclaim and consistency.
Definitions
S Tier - High likelihood of releasing a GOTY candidate AND a game to sell 15+ million copies
A Tier - moderate likelihood of releasing a GOTY candidate AND a game to sell 10+ million copies
B Tier - Games either have extremely high critical acclaim or have the likelihood of selling over 5 million copies
C Tier - Have not consistently put out games with both critical acclaim and high sales
D Tier - Haven't had consistent output, quality, or sales