If you watch anime with any regularity, you’ll probably have seen the name Kadokawa show up in the opening credits. Probably less known is that the Japanese media giant also owns a small number of game publishers, including Spike Chunsoft, and most notably, FromSoftware. Despite its size and ubiquity, there are reports of it being in talks to be acquired by fellow Japanese giant Sony.
Reuters cites two sources who claim that Sony is looking to add Kadokawa to its entertainment portfolio. The former already holds a 2% stake in the latter, and if the talks end up being successful, “a deal could be signed in the coming weeks”. Incidentally, shares for the latter also jumped 16% following the initial report.
Beyond being the brand behind PlayStation, Sony also completed the process of acquiring Crunchyroll back in 2021, merging it with another streaming service under its umbrella, Funimation. While the West has had issues with this process, it’s perhaps not quite something that has been felt here.
On the flip side, though, there is the worry that Sony being in direct control of FromSoftware would restrict the developer’s freedom in what it makes, or even make its games exclusive to PlayStation consoles. But more worryingly, as the company bets on expensive gambles that don’t pay off like Concord, other bits under the umbrella will get gutted, like Japan Studio. Either way though, it will be awhile before we see any of this shake out.
(Source: Reuters)
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