Key takeaways
- Kadokawa reportedly prefers Sony to buy it outright, including the anime and game assets.
- Negotiations between the parties are progressing, despite initial differences.
- Sony will gain majority control of FromSoftware, potentially improving its first-party lineup.
Amid growing negotiations to acquire Sony, a new report claims that From softwareThe largest shareholder, Kadokawa Corporation, prefers an outright purchase of the PlayStation maker over any other arrangement. In other words, the Japanese entertainment giant reportedly wants a potential takeover to include not only its gaming assets — such as FromSoftware — but also its other various assets in various business verticals.
Since the first whispers of Sony wanting to acquire Kadokawa went viral, quite a few new developments have taken place in a short amount of time. For starters, the FromSoftware parent has since issued a public statement officially confirming Sony's interest in the company's stock. While this sent some FromSoftware fans worried about the future of the studio's games on non-Sony platforms into a frenzy, it ultimately helped Kadokawa's stock price climb higher. Now there is new information about the publishing major's favorable terms for an acquisition deal.
Family
Elden Ring's success should lead the software to repeat one of its storytelling tricks
FromSoftware used a trick to develop Elden Ring's deep and intricate story, and hopefully it will be reused when creating a future title.
According to Bloomberg, FromSoftware owner Kadokawa Corporation wants Sony to either acquire it “entirely,” including its vast anime and manga library, or “not at all.” This reportedly goes against the PlayStation maker's original plan, which was to extract purchases of its anime and gaming interests from Kadokawa's diverse portfolio. The source also revealed that the current stage of negotiations between the parties involved is “encouraging”, after a long period of disagreement over the “level of commitment” regarding a takeover.
Sony's acquisition of FromSoftware Parent would give it greater leverage
As early as 2022, Sony secured 14.09% of the shares in Fire Ring developer FromSoftware, becomes its third largest shareholder behind Kadokawa with 69.66% and Tencent with 16.25%. However, if the rumored acquisition goes through, it would bring over 83% of the shares in the Hidetaka Miyazaki-led studio to the PlayStation owner. This change would effectively make Sony the majority owner, unlocking a more promising avenue for influence over Dark souls Creator.
Given the very impressive track record of FromSoftware's titles over the past decade or so, during which two of its games have won Game of the Year at The Game Awards, such a takeover could naturally prove to be a game-changer for the console giant. Even if Sony resists making FromSoftware's games exclusive to its console, it would still add another award-winning developer to its star-studded lineup of first-party studios, which already includes the likes of Naughty Dog, Santa Monica Studio, and Insomniac Games. On top of that, a full takeover of Kadokawa would also give Sony access to the untapped video game potential of the prolific anime maker's virtually endless list of IPs.
From software
Based in Japan, FromSoftware is a development company best known for the Souls series and the Armored Core series. Other popular games from From Software include Elden Ring, Sekiro, Bloodborne and the King's Field series.
- Date founded
- November 1, 1986
- Head office
- Tokyo, Japan
- CEO
- Hidetaka Miyazaki
- Parent company
- Kadokawa
- Known for
- dark souls, Armored Core
