A major acquisition is potentially in the works between two entertainment giants. According to a report from Reuters, sources close to the matter indicate that Sony may be in early talks to purchase Japanese multimedia holder Kadokawa Corporation. From Sony's perspective, this is a move aimed to further expand their various outlets of entertainment, which includes television/anime, books (Dwango properties like Danganronpa and Dengeki Bunko) and music. 

There had been early speculation that Sony was interested in buying FromSoftware itself in 2022. Perhaps a wrench in that plans may have had to do with FromSoftware seeking self publishing for Elden Ring from Bandai Namco early in 2024. Sony had already owned a 2% stock in Kadokawa and a 14% share in FromSoftware. Along with Elden Ring, Kadokawa Corporation holds rights to hits in the anime world such as Re:Zero, Kimi No Na Wa (Your Name), and Steins;Gate. When it comes to anime, Sony made the major purchase of the streaming site Crunchyroll, which merged and liquidated Funimation in 2024. This would also put other major anime distributor Aniplex under their umbrella, as well as being one of the larger manga outlets.  

This potential move also has strong implications in the analog/table-top game industry in Japan, which has grown exponentially in recent years from 2018 to 2022. Part of that due to FromSoftworks' IPs Dark Souls, the Sony published Bloodborne, and the aforementioned Elden Ring seeing great success as crowdfunded ventures from Steamforged Games and CMON games.

 More from this developing story, as it unfolds. Will the FTC see this as the same level of anti-competitive practice monopoly as they viewed Microsoft's purchase of Activision Blizzard? 

SOURCES: Reuters, Steamforged Games