Sony and Microsoft are admittedly two of the biggest gaming entities right now, and the studios have been acquiring big developers left and right to secure some highly prized exclusives.
It can be argued that Sony is winning in terms of exclusives, but the studio may be looking to land a massive IP for PlayStation.
Sony Wants to Buy Kadokawa
Reuters has reported that there are currently talks between Sony and Kadokawa about the former acquiring the latter. VGC has confirmed that Kadokawa has sent a statement about the alleged talks. The letter reads:
“There are some articles on the acquisition of Kadokawa Corporation (hereinafter “the Company”) by Sony Group Inc,
“However, this information is not announced by the Company. The Company has received an initial letter of intent to acquire the Company’s shares, but no decision has been made at this time. If there are any facts that should be announced in the future, we will make an announcement in a timely and appropriate manner.”
What Does Kadokawa Own?
Kadokawa is undoubtedly a huge media brand that owns several developers and anime production houses. The company also owns Dwango, which in turn owns Spike Chunsoft, which developed Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero. The studio also recently bought Acquire, which is responsible for the Octopath Traveller games.
Of course, the very big brand that is turning heads with this planned acquisition is studio FromSoftware, which Kadokawa owns a majority share of. Responsible for the spread of the Souls-like genre, FromSoft is known for titles like Dark Souls, Demon Souls, Armored Core, Bloodborne, and their most recent crown jewel, Elden Ring.
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+ 2Should Sony acquire Kadokawa, it’s possible that players can expect FromSoft titles in the future to be exclusively for the PlayStation—which should come as a major bummer for the Soulslike modding communities.
Who knows, maybe they can even use some of those anime studios that Kadokawa owns to develop anime based on their existing IP. Cyberpunk: Edgerunners did wonders for CDPR, so imagine a God of War anime or an Astro Bot miniseries.
Still in Talks
If anything, Kadokawa has confirmed that Sony has only sent a letter of intent so far, and no major negotiations have taken place. Regardless of the deal's status, though, many industry players think that Kadokawa has a lot to gain from it.
After rumors of the talks emerged, Kadokawa’s share price was said to have increased by 23%, putting it at a new record value for the company.
click to enlarge + 2Though Sony has been winning at exclusive games, some say it’s ultimately more profitable for studios to make a game playable on multiple platforms. Even exclusives like The Last of Us and Horizon have been coming to PC over the last couple of years, so maybe FromSoftware games don’t have to be exclusive to PlayStation.
Then again, fans will just have to wait and see what happens.
For more articles like this, take a look at our Elden Ring page.