Media powerhouse Sony has recently entered into a “Capital Alliance” with one of the biggest companies in Japan. The Kadokawa Corporation is a Japanese media conglomerate behind many popular anime and manga, and also owns From Software, the video game studio that has developed the Souls series, Bloodborne, and 2019 Game Awards GOTY winner Sekiro: Shadow’s Die Twice.
As part of this “Capital Alliance,” Sony has been given 1,422,475 shares of Kadokawa Corporation, which equates to about 2% ownership in the company, specifically 1.93%. Japanese digital marketing company CyberAgent was also included in this alliance and was given equal shares as Sony in Kadokawa Corporation. The alliance is intended to allow Kadowaka Corporation to invest in the creation, development, and acquisition of new IPs, as well as maximizing existing IPs with the strengths of both Sony and CyberAgent.
Kadowaka Corporation is well-known in Japan, but it hopes to use Sony’s global recognition and power in animation and consumer games to reach new levels. Sony’s small stake in the company will not allow it to take over operations or acquire IPs, it is a step closer to being more involved with the production of games, namely by From Software. The Kadowaka-owned video game developer has enjoyed a substantial amount of success recently with Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice and the remastered versions of Dark Souls.
From Software also has a highly-anticipated title in development that could be the studio’s largest title yet. Elden Ring was announced at E3 2019 and made waves among fans everywhere. The dark fantasy action RPG is set in a world created by novelist George R.R. Martin, best known for The Song of Fire and Ice novels and the hit TV show Game of Thrones. From Software has been recently fairly quiet about details surrounding the release of the title, but the alliance between Sony and Kadowaka Corporation could shed some light on the current development.
With Kadowaka Corporation giving a small stake to both Sony and CyberAgent, the marketing potential for video game hardware and new video game titles is immense. CyberAgent is well-based in advertising and the development of smartphone games, while Sony’s PS5 has been named one of the best inventions in 2020 by Time Magazine. The “Capital Alliance” with these companies may result in more video game IPs and more high-quality titles being pushed out quickly like Sekiro, Dark Souls, Bloodbourne, with potentially more being developed like a Bloodbourne or Sekiro sequel.
Source: Gematsu
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