Sony and Tencent purchase 30% of FromSoftware
FromSoftware's plans to expand the Elden Ring IP likely played a major role in Sony and Tencent's new investment.
Earlier today, Sony and Tencent both increased their shares of Elden Ring developer FromSoftware, with over 30% ownership distributed between them.
As of now, Sony holds 14.09% of the company, while Tencent has a 16.25% stake. In response to the increased investments, FromSoftware’s majority shareholder Kadokawa issued a statement of optimism this morning. The statement reads:
FromSoftware decided to conduct the Third-Party Allotment to Sixjoy within the Tencent Group, which has strength in its capabilities to develop and deploy mobile games and other network technologies in the global market including China, and SIE within the Sony Group, which has strength in its capabilities to deploy IP in games, videos and various other media in the global market, concurrently and separately.
Kadokawa
However, even with the increased stake of Tencent and Sony, Kadokawa asserts its priority will remain on establishing its own IP.
FromSoftware will aim to proactively invest in development of more powerful game IP for itself to strengthen FromSoftware’s development capabilities and will seek to establish a framework that allows the expansion of the scope of its own publishing in the significantly growing global market.
Kadokawa
FromSoftware plans to build off Elden Ring’s success
The massive success of FromSoftware’s latest game Elden Ring likely played a massive role in Sony and Tencent’s most recent investment. The game received impressive reviews and quickly climbed the charts after selling over 10 million units within a month of its launch. The combined critical and commercial success also led to FromSoftware conceptualizing major plans to expand the franchise, even beyond the realm of games.
Needless to say, fans will certainly explore deeper within The Lands Between, sooner rather than later. As a result, the franchise has limitless growth potential both creatively and commercially, meaning Sony and Tencent have much to gain from getting a larger piece of the pie.
What do you think of the recent investment in the publisher made by Tencent and Sony? What do you expect to see FromSoftware bring next? As always, let us know what you think in the comments!
Via IGN
