Dark Souls II has two directors working it, well, technically one director and old director who is now a supervisor. Yes, the original Dark Souls' director, Hidetaka Miyazaki, was unfortunately demoted for development of his game's sequel. The project instead falls into the hands of Tomohiro Shibuya, though Miyazaki is being retained as a highly influential supervisor. One director to evolve the game's world, story and artwork, the other to maintain the game's iconic gameplay. Dark Souls II is in good hands.

Says Hidetaka Miyazki of his trust in Tomohiro Shibuya:

"As far as being a developing games, Mr. Shibuya has far more experience than I do. He understands exactly what it takes to do a great job and we’re on the same page regarding where we’d like to take the Dark Souls franchise. I fully trust him and his judgment."

Shibuya's experience includes directing the development of two A.C.E. games, mecha titles that were never localized for North America. He's also developed the new engine that Dark Souls II will be running on. His experience with the technology should have direct results in the game, as he claims here:

"Rather than focusing on shading and lighting technologies, I believe that having a more realistic atmosphere while showing  better details of the monsters and their expressions would definitely have a bigger impact."

Otherwise, don't expect too much change going forward. Dark Souls II will take place in the same world as Dark Souls, though in a different area with a different story. The scale and length of the game will be similar too, though perhaps slightly larger. 

A new director, a new game, but while change is scary it can sometimes result in something great. Shibuya wants Dark Souls to be better than ever.

"My concept is to get Dark Souls and what made it great, and give it a major upgrade."