Sony has acquired a large stake in Kadokawa, the parent company of FromSoftware. This happened after there were reports that Sony was in talks to buy the company outright. It doesn’t look like that’s going to happen, but Sony has increased its overall stake in Kadokawa to ten percent after spending about $300 million on additional shares. This makes Sony the largest shareholder in the Japanese publisher.
Sony probably took this step to get its hands on some of Kadokawa’s intellectual property, which includes the entire list of FromSoftware games and franchises created by Spike Chunsoft and Gotcha Gotcha Games. Kadokawa also publishes a large number of anime and manga titles. The press release states that the two companies will now “discuss specific cooperation initiatives” that will include “feature films and television dramas.”
Does this mean that we will soon get an Elden’s Ring or Dark Souls movie? These are some of Kadokawa’s most famous franchises, so it is quite possible. The companies also promised to promote “global expansion of a wide range of entertainment, including anime and games.”
As for the exclusivity of consoles, don’t hold your breath. Sony already owns a 14 percent stake in FromSoftware, and games such as Elden Ring and Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice are available on PlayStation, Xbox, and PC consoles. In addition, a cooperative expansion for Elden Ring will be released next year.
