Report: Sony in Talks to Buy Kadokawa, Owner of Elden Ring and Dark Souls Developer FromSoftware

Sony is reportedly in talks to buy Kadokawa, whose subsidiary FromSoftware is behind smash hit Elden Ring, the Dark Souls and Armored Core games, and PlayStation exclusive Bloodborne.

Reuters reports that Sony is looking to add to its entertainment portfolio. Kadokawa’s business extends into areas that fit into Sony’s broader entertainment offering, which includes anime, manga, TV, and film. Kadokawa is a prolific publisher of anime, and Sony already owns anime streamers Crunchyroll and Funimation. As well as FromSoftware, Kadokawa owns Danganronpa developer Spike Chunsoft, Octopath Traveler developer Acquire, and RPG Maker and Pixel Game Maker developer Gotcha Gotcha Games.

Talks between Sony and Kadokawa are reportedly ongoing. If the talks are successful, Reuters said, a deal could be signed in the coming weeks.

Sony and Kadokawa declined to comment when asked by Reuters.

Kadokawa is the majority owner of FromSoftware, with around 70% of the company. Sony already owns around 14% of FromSoftware, with Tencent owning around 16%. FromSoftware has yet to announce its next game to follow this year’s Elden Ring DLC, Shadow of the Erdtree.

For Sony, its gaming business has already suffered significant layoffs this year and the closure of multiple studios, including Concord developer Firewalk. In February, it announced a round of layoffs affecting 900 staff, or about 8% of its global PlayStation workforce. The layoffs impacted a number of PlayStation studios, including Insomniac, Naughty Dog, Guerrilla, and Firesprite, but PlayStation’s London studio was hit hardest with a notice of closure. Since then, Sony-owned Bungie has also suffered devastating cuts as Destiny 2 struggles to find commercial success.

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at [email protected] or confidentially at [email protected].