Sony Is Acquiring Kadokawa, the Parent Company of FromSoftware 

Reuters is reporting that Sony is considering and is in talks with Kadokawa Corporation for a buyout, it is the same company that owns FromSoftware, and Spike Chunsoft among other things. If the idea goes through then it will be a major success since it will give Sony control over big franchises. It will act as a counter-move against Microsoft’s acquisition.

Kadokawa has confirmed that they have gotten an “initial letter of intent to acquire the Company’s shares” from Sony. They added that there is no decision regarding the buyout yet. Takeshi Natsuno, the CEO of the company had this to say about the news “If there are any facts that should be announced in future, we will make an announcement in a timely and appropriate manner.” According to the reports Kadokawa reported $1.7 billion in revenue in the year 2024 so, a big buyout should be expected.

Kadokawa is a Japanese company and it is not just about video games as they have different types of business that range from anime, tourism, manga, and video streaming among other things. The company is responsible for some of the well-known games from Japan. Their most recent game was Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero, they have co-developed some games, and they have also released a Nintendo game called Mario & Luigi: Brothership.

Kadokawa will bring way more than just video games which can be used in a wide array of multi-media. The acquisition will ensure that Sony captures more anime space along with taking over Anime News Network along with FromSoftware. It will also bring more manga houses under Sony. There were already concerns regarding Sony’s hold in manga and anime with them owning Crunchyroll and Funimation. It will solidify Sony’s dominance in this area of business.

From Software Is The Main Deal

The major headline in all this is FromSoftware which is responsible for some of the best games out there including Dark Souls, Bloodborne, Armored Core, Elden Ring, and Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice among others. FromSoftware is also responsible for introducing the souls-like genre. It will be a big move from Sony and can turn some of the best games out there into PlayStation exclusives. Only PC players will see these games being ported which has been the norm for PlayStation.

The news has a huge positive impact on Kadokawa’s stocks. This will not be as big of a layout as Xbox’s buyout of Activision but it will be a major one.