Sony is solidifying its future ties with Kadokawa-parent of FromSoftware-with funding for game projects it will publish, a new arrangement confirmed in the most recent Kadokawa earnings report. This could signal major implications on the gaming spectrum, especially since Elden Ring and Dark Souls are among your favorite games out there.
Kadokawa is the parent company of game studios such as RPG Maker developer Gotcha Gotcha Games, Danganronpa creator Spike Chunsoft, and Tenchu developer Acquire. Kadokawa has said that this investment by Sony will speed up the development of games, movies, and TV shows. Not all of the financials were disclosed, but this investment follows a $318 million one in November 2024 that made Sony the largest shareholder in Kadokawa.
FromSoftware, by far Kadokawa’s most well-known studio, is currently working on Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree, published by Bandai Namco. With Sony now funding future Kadokawa projects, though, the next major FromSoftware title could carry PlayStation branding or even launch as a PS5 exclusive – at least, for a time.
Sony has previously financed and published titles such as Bloodborne, its PS-exclusive game with FromSoftware, and forthcoming PS5 titles Stellar Blade and Rise of the Ronin, both of which were developed in partnership with financial support from Sony. If this new partnership takes a similar track, future projects from FromSoftware will be more toward PlayStation, but whether it bypasses completely PC or Xbox is yet to be seen.
Given the immense popularity of FromSoftware games on PC, it’s unlikely Sony would enforce full exclusivity, but a timed PS5 release—similar to what we’ve seen with other major PlayStation-backed titles—is very possible.
With most of the attention going toward FromSoftware, the rest of the parent’s studios are also heating up: Gotcha Gotcha Games has Action Game Maker slated to release on PC this June 2025, while both Acquire and Spike Chunsoft have things in the works.
With Sony taking an even bigger part in Kadokawa’s gaming future, it will be interesting to see how this new partnership takes shape in the years ahead.
