As a seasoned gamer with decades of gaming under my belt, I must confess that the news of Sony potentially acquiring FromSoftware has me both excited and apprehensive. On one hand, I have fond memories of countless hours spent battling through the labyrinthine worlds of Dark Souls, Sekiro, and Elden Ring. The prospect of more masterfully crafted games from this studio is tantalizingly close.
Reports indicate that Sony has expressed interest in acquiring FromSoftware, known for creating beloved video game series like Elden Ring, Dark Souls, Armoured Core, among others. This move follows Sony’s acquisition of Bungie, the developer behind Destiny 2 and creator of Halo, hinting at their continued focus on iconic Japanese gaming companies.
PlayStation to nab Elden Ring dev FromSoftware
Based on a report by respected tech news source Reuters, it appears that Sony is nearing the point of purchasing Kadokawa, FromSoftware’s parent company. If this deal goes through, Sony would gain access to additional anime publishing platforms and have a direct connection to selling anime merchandise.
Instead, let me rephrase that for you: Gaming enthusiasts are particularly interested in acquiring FromSoftware, a renowned game studio known for decades of timeless titles. As of now, Sony has 14% ownership of FromSoftware, but since Kadokawa owns 70%, if Sony were to acquire more shares, they would become the majority shareholder of the developer.
In fact, if Sony were to purchase Kadokawa, they wouldn’t automatically take over the entire Dark Souls studio. At present, a significant 16% stake in FromSoftware is owned by Tencent, and for Sony to have complete ownership, they would need to buy out this share from Tencent as well.
Neither Sony nor Kadokawa have responded to multiple sources regarding the possible takeover.
Don’t forget about Firewalk
Keeping in mind the upcoming acquisition, it’s important to recall that Sony has carried out significant job cuts over the past year as well. Additionally, layoffs have occurred at Destiny developer Bungie, and Sony closed Firewalk Studios following the disappointing launch of their multiplayer shooter game, Concord.
Additionally, other studios under the PlayStation brand, along with numerous game developers not employed by the company, have been impacted. To illustrate, Microsoft’s competing platform, Xbox, has similarly let go of thousands of developers across multiple studios.
It’s unknown if Sony will start layoffs at FromSoftware if it acquires the Elden Ring studio.
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2024-11-19 17:40