Sony becomes largest stakeholder of FromSoftware owner Kadokawa

Sony will soon acquire over 12 million new shares to become the majority shareholder of FromSoftware owner Kadokawa. This comes just weeks after the company expressed their interest in acquiring Kadokawa, and while not a complete acquisition, the company will soon hold a 10% stake for a price of $318.6 million.

In an official announcement, Sony revealed that both companies have come into a'strategic capital and business alliance agreement’ to join forces and bring their IPs together for further expansion. This includes adapting Kadokawa's IP into live-action films and TV dramas globally, co-producing and publishing anime and video games.

KADOKAWA and Sony Agree to Form Strategic Capital and Business Alliance - Sony acquiring 12,054,100 new KADOKAWA shares for approximately 50 billion yen. Sony will become KADOKAWA's largest shareholder, holding approximately 10% of its shares, including the shares Sony previously… pic.twitter.com/RipHb76U85

— Wario64 (@Wario64) December 19, 2024

What does this mean for gamers?

Apart from FromSoftware, Kadokawa also owns other popular video game developers, including the developers behind Octopath Traveller, Acquire, and Dragon Ball Sparking Zero, Spike Chunsoft. A complete acquisition would have given Sony full control of these assets.

Also Read: Sony is reportedly eying Kadokawa, parent company of Elden Ring developers FromSoftware

Having a majority stake will give Sony better control of things. The company also owns Bloodborne and Demon's Souls IP, and fans can finally see the long-awaited sequels for these games. As for gamers who were sweating that FromSoftware games would be going PlayStation exclusives, they can rest easy for now.

Although gaming isn’t necessarily the primary focus of this investment, Kadokawa has an extensive range of IPs from anime too. As per Sony, the company is mainly focusing on maximising the value of its IP while also realising their ‘Creative Entertainment Vision’.

The CEO of Kadokawa said, Takeshi Natsuno, something similar, stating, “We are very pleased to conclude this capital and business alliance agreement with Sony. This alliance is expected to not only further strengthen our IP creation capabilities but also increase our IP media mix options with Sony's support for global expansion, allowing us to deliver our IP to more users around the world.”