Is the next big video game company acquisition on the cards?
Last week, news broke that Sony was in talks to buy FromSoftware parent company Kadokawa. A day later, Kadokawa acknowledged that takeover interest. Should it be accepted, this would likely be the biggest video game acquisition since Microsoft bought Activision Blizzard and Sony itself bought Destiny-maker Bungie.
FromSoftware is of course known for its Souls games and Elden Ring, and already has an established relationship with Sony due to exclusives like Bloodborne and Demon’s Souls. Yet Kadokawa not only owns other developers, such as Octopath Traveler and Mario & Luigi: Brothership developer Acquire, it’s a major name in anime and manga too – an area Sony already has considerable claim to with its acquisition of Crunchyroll.
So what’s the likelihood of this acquisition being accepted? What does Kadokawa – and by extension FromSoftware – stand to gain from Sony ownership? And does this mean Bloodborne fans will finally get the re-release they so desperately crave?
Joining me to discuss the possible consequences of this acquisition on this week’s Eurogamer Newscast are news reporters Victoria Kennedy and Vikki Blake.
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