Sony Reportedly in Talks to Acquire Elden Ring Maker Kadokawa Corp

Includes FromSoftware and more manga control

Sony has reportedly entered talks with Elden Ring maker Kadokawa Corporation with a view to acquiring the company, Reuters claims via two sources. Discussions are said to be ongoing, and if they're successful, a finalised deal could be signed within the coming weeks. The firm's stocks are estimated to be worth around $2.7 billion, of which Sony already owns two per cent.

If a deal came to fruition, it would see Dark Souls, Bloodborne developer FromSoftware fall under the Sony banner, but there's far more to Kadokawa Corporation than that. The company's main operations relate to manga, books, and film. Sony already owns significant anime distribution platforms like Crunchyroll and Funimation, so the acquisition would account for far more than just video games. Spike Chunsoft is also owned by the Kadokawa Corporation, the studio behind titles like Danganronpa.

Both Sony and Kadokawa Corporation declined to comment on Reuter's report. Should a deal go through, it would be the first PlayStation-related acquisition made since Concord developer Firewalk Studios was purchased in 2023. Before then was Haven Studio with the upcoming Fairgame$, Bluepoint Games, Returnal developer Housemarque, and Nixxes.

[source reuters.com]