Sony reportedly in talks to purchase FromSoftware parent company Kadokawa

Seemingly in retaliation following Microsoft’s spree of notable acquisitions over the past few years, Sony is reportedly in the process of making a significant purchase of its own. As per a report from Reuters, the PlayStation manufacturer is presently in talks to purchase Kadokawa, the Japanese parent company of Elden Ring developer FromSoftware.

According to the report, Sony is currently in talks to acquire Kadokawa, the company which notably owns Elden Ring and Dark Souls developer FromSoftware. In addition to its game development endeavours, Kadokawa also owns manga and anime publishing companies, another element which is likely to be of interest to Sony, which owns anime streaming sites Crunchyroll and Aniplex.

There is pressure on Sony to keep up the company consolidation arms race against its console manufacturer rival Microsoft. However, there are concerns from many onlookers that FromSoftware could go the way of other high profile Sony acquisitions, such as The Last Guardian developer Japan Studio, and experience substantial layoffs and downsizing if it was purchased. Sony already has a longstanding history with FromSoftware, with several PlayStation exclusive titles, including Demons’ Souls and Bloodborne.

Neither Sony nor Kadokawa have disclosed anything regarding a potential sale publicly at time of writing. Such an acquisition would have a substantial impact on the gaming, anime and manga landscapes. While one might expect Sony to tighten its belt after the high-profile collapse of the recently-purchased Firewalk Studios, the potential of acquiring a company with acclaimed output such as FromSoftware, among the other multimedia companies and IP under Kadokawa’s ownership, might be too lucrative for Sony to resist. We will have to keep an eye out regarding any potential acquisition announcements in the coming weeks and months.