For years now, gamers have been waiting to see if FromSoftware would be acquired by one of the console giants. When Microsoft began its buying spree of Bethesda, Activision, and a laundry list of other studios only for Sony to counter with its own acquisitions of Bungie along with several other big names, FromSoftware falling into one of their hands felt inevitable.
After the cult classic status of Demon’s Souls and the global success of Dark Souls in the years that followed, I imagine Sony was kicking itself for not scooping up the studio sooner. It could have had full ownership of the past two console generations’ most defining developer, whose gameplay formula has gone on to influence hundreds of games both big and small. But it turned this partnership down, and now seemingly wants to restore it.
What Is Kadokawa And Why Does It Matter?
Kadokawa Corporation is a Japanese media conglomerate and one of the biggest owners of intellectual property and businesses in the modern landscape. It also owns FromSoftware, a developer so renowned that it’s become the headline grabber in the potential Sony acquisition. But it is so much bigger than that, with Kadokawa owning an endless slew of massive names, properties, companies, and other ventures that will soon be under Sony’s umbrella if things go its way.
Here are just a few of the significant companies that Kadokawa owns right now:
- Spike Chunsoft
- NicoNico
- Yen Press
- ASCII Media Works
That’s just a couple from the top of my head, with Kadokawa having ties to a number of major names across video games, animation, film, publishing, and myriad others which make up a significant amount of Japan’s cultural footprint. There’s a reason Kadokawa’s logo tends to appear before major anime films or in the credits of larger games.
Such corporate takeovers are also incredibly rare in Japan, so if statements of intent or acknowledgement from both parties are being shared publicly, chances are the deal will soon go ahead. Japanese outlet Bunshin recently talked to employees who reportedly are thrilled about a potential takeover, and how it could lead to a positive shift within the company’s culture and leadership.
This deal would be massive for not only the folks at FromSoftware, but across Japan and other countries that consume products that Kadokawa has a hand in. Don’t get me wrong, most things will resume normal business without much change, but much like how Sony acquired Crunchyroll and Funimation, it is building a larger media empire that extends far beyond where it first began.
What Could The Kadokawa Acquisition Mean For FromSoftware?
Most gamers will probably see a studio like FromSoftware being acquired by Sony and then immediately assume all future games will be PlayStation exclusives, but we don’t live in that world anymore. If this deal were to happen ten or 15 years ago, Dark Souls, Sekiro, or Elden Ring could definitely have started life as first-party exclusives, but not anymore.
Kadokawa suffered a significant ransomware attack earlier this year and saw much of its data compromised while multiple websites and services were brought down. It made the act of purchasing Yakuza merch hell for our own Meg Pelliccio.
Sony has developed a habit of putting its biggest titles on PC as the console business shifts and changes, both to build communities within the games themselves and to boost profits. It’s not something I can see changing even if FromSoftware becomes a first-party studio. But it will potentially alter the sort of titles it works on and its future priorities. Will it stick rigidly to select styles of experiences or be given the freedom to jump between Elden Ring, Armored Core, and the Souls series at will? There are also pre-existing publishing agreements worth taking into account, some of which might concern games that haven’t been announced yet.
This acquisition raises a lot of interesting questions we don’t have answers to right now, and in the gaming world, FromSoftware becoming a first-party PlayStation studio will easily be the biggest news story our medium has seen in quite some time. But Kadokawa is bigger than a single developer, and we’d be wise to remember that and how this deal could shape the games we play, anime we watch, and things we love for a long time to come.
With worldbuilding from Game of Thrones scribe George R.R. Martin and developed by FromSoftware, Elden Ring is a masterpiece in what has become known as the ‘Soulslike’ genre of action role-playing games.