It hasn’t been sold outright, but FromSoftware’s owners have agreed to let Sony and Tencent buy a stake in the developer.
Under normal circumstances the incredible success of Elden Ring would have publishers fighting each other to acquire developer FromSoftware but they cannot be bought… because they already belong to someone else.
They were already bought out by Japanese media giant Kadokawa Corporation in 2014 (the same year as Dark Souls 2 and before they made Bloodborne for Sony) and the only thing other companies can do now is buy partial ownership.
That is what happened earlier today, with FromSoftware selling roughly 30% of its shares, split between Sony and Tencent.
Specifically, Sony now holds 14.09% stock in the Elden Ring studio, with another 16.25% owned by Tencent subsidiary Sixjoy. Kadokawa remains the majority shareholder with 69.66%.
The announcement is full of business jargon, but the long and short of it is that the extra funding will go towards enhancing development on FromSoftware’s game franchises and expand the scope of its publishing.
Although it publishes its own games in Japan, FromSoftware has had to rely on other companies for Western releases, such as Bandai Namco for Elden Ring and Activision for Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice.
As for why Kadokawa is going along with all this, it’s because it plans on expanding its overall gaming business and clearly sees further investment from Sony and Tencent as a net positive.
‘With an eye on further expansion of the Game Business, the Group recognizes the enhancement of capabilities for the creation, development and deployment of game IP as one of the Group’s highest priorities,’ reads the announcement notice.
‘In line with this policy, the Company has decided to have FromSoftware implement fund procurement by way of a Third-Party Allotment to Sixjoy and [Sony Interactive Entertainment].’
It also shows that Sony and Tencent are eager to capitalise on FromSoftware’s growing success, meaning we can probably expect both companies to start financing and publishing projects at the studio.
As a reminder, Elden Ring has been doing ridiculously well in terms of sales. As of last month, it broke into the top 10 best-selling games of all time in the US. So of course other companies would want a piece of that pie.
Sony’s interest in the studio will naturally perk the ears of Bloodborne fans. Sony published Bloodborne as a PlayStation 4 exclusive back in 2015 and fans have clamoured for a sequel, remake, and/or PC port ever since.
There’s no guarantee that Sony will greenlight a Bloodborne 2, but the game’s critical and commercial success likely played a part in Sony’s decision to invest in FromSoftware.
Speaking with MCV (via GameSpot), Sony admitted that Bloodborne far exceeded their expectations, and sold more than two million copies by the end of its release year.
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