Newly discovered Demon’s Souls prototype footage reveals a scrapped first-person mode
Newly discovered prototype footage from a 2007 developer presentation has revealed that Demon’s Souls, FromSoftware’s seminal action role-playing game, was originally conceived with a first-person perspective mode during early development.
The discovery was made by notable dataminer Lance McDonald, who unearthed gameplay footage, images, and presentation slides from an internal Sony Computer Entertainment showcase where Japan Studio developers presented their in-progress projects. The presentation, created by the game’s producer in PowerPoint format, already featured the game’s eventual title—though labeled as a “working title” at the time—and outlined the ambitious vision to create a “worldwide blockbuster” featuring diverse environments including fields, ruined castles, and desolate wastelands.
This finding provides rare insight into Demon’s Souls’ development process and the design decisions that shaped one of gaming’s most influential titles. The scrapped first-person perspective represents one of several creative directions explored and abandoned during development. Such discoveries are invaluable for game preservation efforts, illuminating how landmark games evolved from their earliest conceptual stages through to final release.