Future FromSoftware games may be PlayStation exclusives, as confirmation has landed about Sony"s intentions to buy its parent company. Yesterday, a report from Reuters alleged that the two companies are in talks for the acquisition. Now, Kadokawa Corporation has confirmed it has received a letter of intent from Sony.
"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 statement by the Japanese media conglomerate reads. "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."
Kadokawa currently owns 70% of FromSoftware, maker of games like Dark Souls, Sekiro, and Elden Ring, with Sony owning another 14% of it.
If the acquisition worth billions goes through, it won"t only be the Souls-maker that will be under Sony"s umbrella either. Kadokawa"s other subsidiaries include Spike Chunsoft (Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero, Danganronpa), Acquire (Octopath Traveler, Mario & Luigi: Brothership), and Gotcha Gotcha Games (RPG Maker) in the game development side of things.
Sony is also the owner of anime streaming giant Crunchyroll, and a Kadokawa acquisition can massively expand its reach in the space as well. Oshi no Ko, Re:Zero, Mushoku Tensei, KonoSuba, Delicious in Dungeon, and The Rising of the Shield Hero are only a few of the anime made by Kadokawa-owned companies, while it"s also involved in the production of a massive number of light novels, manga, and magazines in Japan.
It"s unclear what stage of discussion the acquisition deal is at right now, but we should get news about what happens between the two companies in the coming weeks.