Sony Could Acquire FromSoftware’s Owners In Most Annoying Attempt to Make Bloodborne Remaster Real

It’s easy to imagine Sony looking at Microsoft’s $69 billion Activision Blizzard buyout with no small degree of envy. While there are fewer and fewer media monoliths to gobble up for the sake of video game consolidation, the PlayStation makers are reportedly eyeing a major deal that could nab it FromSoftware, the makers of beloved games like Dark Souls, Bloodborne, and Elden Ring.

Reuters reported on Tuesday, based on anonymous sources, that the company behind PlayStation was eyeing up Kadokawa, a massive Japanese media conglomerate that was the result of a 2014 merger between itself and Dwango Corp.

Elden Ring, a collaboration between Hidetaka Miyazaki and George R.R. Martin, was a major seller, and its recent DLC, Shadow of the Erdtree, sold 5 million copies in its first few days after launch, according to publisher Bandai Namco. But it’s not just Miyazaki’s current and future projects on the line if a Sony deal goes through. Kadokawa also owns major franchises beloved by Japanese and Western audiences, including the hit manga Delicious in Dungeon and now the Netflix series.

Reuters did not offer an idea of what Sony is willing to pay for Kadokawa, and anonymous sources only mentioned that the talks are ongoing. As the outlet noted, Sony has been looking to break into more anime and acquire even more media franchises. Sony CEO Kenichiro Yoshida told investors they wanted more IP with “lovable” characters.

Kadokawa owns a 70% stake in FromSoftware, while Sony owns a 14% stake in the studio. This deal would give Sony the absolute majority and effectively set up Miyazaki’s darling as a potential PlayStation-first enterprise. Kadokawa’s market cap shot through the roof on Tuesday with Reuters’ report, above $3.6 billion. That’s about as much as Sony originally paid for Bungie in 2022. If we need a reminder of the buyout problems, just look at how Bungie has fared after its move to Sony. On the other hand, this could be the only way we get a Bloodborne Remaster.

Now, the question is whether Sony should emphasize exclusivity if a deal goes through. In an interview with Norges Bank in January, Yoshida said the plan was to emphasize more content on Windows PCs alongside consoles. At least, the Sony boss emphasized some caution about using AI for game creation, saying, “The content that forms that basis of entertainment is creator-generated and copyrighted.”

Kadokawa was the victim of a ransomware attack earlier this year. Hackers demanded money while threatening to release a claimed 1.5 terabytes of data. The hackers released sensitive information to the dark web in June and September of this year, which may be enticing it to eventually sell and wash its hands of all the issues of creating content in our modern age.

Sony’s latest efforts to force PSN accounts on PC-based games haven’t earned much respect. For fans of FromSoftware, Sony’s potential deal is yet another monopolization effort from a major studio that could have severe repercussions for the studio’s lauded work.