Chinese tech conglomerate Tencent has increased its stake in FromSoftware’s parent company Kadokawa, edging closer to Sony’s shares in the company.
As reported by GamesIndustry today, Japanese publication Nikkei revealed that Tencent has increased its stake in the company by 1.11%, bringing it to 7.97%. The Chinese conglomerate confirmed the company had increased its share in FromSoftware’s parent company as part of a “capital business alliance” between the two parties.
Despite increasing its share ratio, Tencent still isn’t the largest shareholder in Kadokawa. Back in December, Sony and Kadokawa confirmed that the two companies had entered a strategic capital and business alliance that made Sony the largest shareholder with around 10% of Kadokawa stock. The alliance will allow Kadokawa to realize the company’s Global Media Mix strategy, which involves the global expansion of a wide range of entertainment, including anime and games.
FromSoftware is only one of the game development studios owned by Kadokawa, but it is definitely the most popular. The creator of the Souls series is now working on an Elden Ring spin-off called Elden Ring: Nightreign which combines mechanics from the main game with roguelike elements to provide a co-op experience that has ton of potential, as I highlighted in my preview.
Even though the experience wasn’t perfect, the Closed Network Test succeeded in making me excited about the unique take on the Souls gameplay formula featured in Elden Ring Nightreign. I am now really looking forward to trying out the game when it launches in late May. Hopefully, FromSoftware will be able to address some of the CNT version issues by then and fully realize the potential of the experience.
