Sony is thinking about buying Kadokawa Corporation, the big boss behind From Software, who made games like Elden Ring and Dark Souls.
Kadokawa’s CEO, Takeshi Natsuno, mentioned on November 20 that they got an offer from Sony, but nothing’s been decided yet. If Sony goes ahead with this, they’ll own Elden Ring and future games by From Software, which also made Demon Souls and Dark Souls. Plus, Kadokawa has other game creators like Acquire and Spike Chunsoft, known for Tenchu and Danganronpa, and they might be part of this deal too. Right now, Sony already owns a tiny bit of Kadokawa, just 2%.
But Kadokawa isn’t only about games; they’ve got their fingers in anime and manga pies, such as Re:Zero and Delicious in Dungeon. Back in 2021, Sony spent over a billion dollars to grab Crunchyroll, which is an anime streaming service.
We think it’s interesting how companies keep changing and growing all the time.
Elden Ring is a huge hit, selling more than 25 million copies even before its big update, Shadow of the Erdtree, came out. This game was a big deal for GameSpot, earning the title of Game of the Year in 2022. Then in June, the Shadow of the Erdtree expansion was released, and everyone loved it. It’s now up for several awards at The Game Awards 2024, including Game of the Year.
However, not everything is shiny for Sony. Last month, they closed down Firewalk Studios after their new game didn’t do well. Earlier in the year, they also let go of around 900 employees and canceled some PlayStation projects.
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