Sony’s looking to buy a massive anime powerhouse that also happens to make “Elden Ring”
Sony is said to be interested in buying Kadokawa, a massive Japanese media company that publishes anime, manga, magazines, and, perhaps most notably in the US: the “Elden Ring” gaming studio FromSoftware.
It’s been a rough year for the Japanese content conglomerate, and perhaps the thinking is it can grow its way out of its current slump.
Big gaming buys haven’t been working out all that well for people who enjoy playing games. This year, Bungie — the “Destiny” maker that Sony bought in 2022 — laid off about 35% of its staff and scrapped multiple projects. Sony’s purchase of Firewalk Studios last year led to “Concord,” a game so bad it was essentially deleted after 14 days.
Countless other examples of small studios disappearing after being folded into massive corporations have fans up in arms about Sony’s potential Kadokawa acquisition.
The deal’s difficulty setting may ultimately prove to be too punishing. Sony is said to be considering extracting only pieces of Kadokawa that it’s interested in, like FromSoftware and anime assets that would complement its anime streamer Crunchyroll. Kadokawa, on the other hand, is reportedly looking to be purchased completely.
Big gaming buys haven’t been working out all that well for people who enjoy playing games. This year, Bungie — the “Destiny” maker that Sony bought in 2022 — laid off about 35% of its staff and scrapped multiple projects. Sony’s purchase of Firewalk Studios last year led to “Concord,” a game so bad it was essentially deleted after 14 days.
Countless other examples of small studios disappearing after being folded into massive corporations have fans up in arms about Sony’s potential Kadokawa acquisition.
The deal’s difficulty setting may ultimately prove to be too punishing. Sony is said to be considering extracting only pieces of Kadokawa that it’s interested in, like FromSoftware and anime assets that would complement its anime streamer Crunchyroll. Kadokawa, on the other hand, is reportedly looking to be purchased completely.
