Key foods
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Sony is in talks to buy Kadokawa, the parent company of FromSoftware.
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The potential acquisition would give Sony ownership of multiple media brands, not just video games.
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Sony's history of studio acquisitions, including less successful acquisitions, could make the deal risky.
Sony is reportedly in talks to acquire Forum Software's parent company, Elden Ring and Dark Souls developer Kadokawa.
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The report comes from Reuters, which says Sony is looking to “add to its entertainment portfolio.”
Sony is in talks to buy Kadokawa
Kadokawa is probably a name that is not very familiar to the western world, but it is one of the largest media companies in Japan. The company owns 70 percent of Forum Software, as well as Spike Chunsoft, the developer of Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero, and dozens of anime, manga, and media brands.
According to Reuters, talks between the two sides are ongoing and the deal could be closed “in the coming weeks”.
Talks between the two sides are ongoing and a deal could be closed “in the coming weeks.”
The purchase of Kadokawa is the latest in a series of acquisitions of development studios from Sony. In the past few years, PlayStation developers have acquired Bungie, Insomniac Games, Haven Studios, and Firewalk Studios.
However, while Sony seems eager to buy, its track record hasn't been the best. The recently released Concord was heralded as one of gaming's biggest flops, causing its developers to shut down, and several other PlayStation-owned studios have faced layoffs in recent times, including hundreds of employees from Bungie, which Sony reportedly hired for It has paid “excessive salaries”. .
If finalized, the acquisition would likely create more parity between PlayStation and Xbox creator Microsoft, which has made major acquisitions over the past few years. In 2022, Microsoft confirmed the purchase of Activision, the owner of Call of Duty, for $70 billion, and a few years earlier, Bethesda, the developer of Fallout and Skyrim, was bought for $7.5 billion.
While Elden Ring and Dark Souls may not be on the commercial level of Call of Duty or Skyrim, they will certainly be a feather in Sony's cap.
Both Sony and Kadokawa declined to comment when asked by Reuters.
