PlayStation in talks to buy owner of Elden Ring, Dark Souls developer FromSoftware
Kadokawa buyout would also include Mario & Luigi: Brothership studio.
PlayStation maker Sony is currently in talks that would likely see it acquire a controlling stake in FromSoftware, the developer behind Elden Ring, Dark Souls and Bloodborne, as part of a buyout of its owner, the Japanese publishing giant Kadokawa.
That's according to a Reuters report which claims a deal could be signed in weeks, via sources with knowledge of discussions between the two companies. Both Sony and Kadokawa declined to comment on that report.
Launched in 2022, Elden Ring has now sold more than 25m copies worldwide.
Sony already owns a 14 percent stake in FromSoftware, and already has ownership of both the Bloodborne and Demon Souls franchises. FromSoftware, meanwhile, owns the rights to Elden Ring and Sekiro.
This deal would likely result in PlayStation gaining the 69.6 percent stake in FromSoftware that Kadokawa holds, meaning it would hold a commanding 84 percent of the company. (Chinese giant Tencent currently owns the remaining 16 percent.)
Kadokawa owns various other studios, too. These include Octopath Traveler and Tenchu developer Acquire, which recently developed Mario & Luigi: Brothership for Nintendo Switch, Shiren the Wanderer studio Spike Chunsoft and RPG Maker developer Gotcha Gotcha Games.
Outside of video games, Kadokawa is also a huge name in anime and manga, and would be a significant addition to Sony's existing portfolio that includes Crunchyroll and Funimation.
PlayStation's other recent purchases include UK studio Firesprite, plus Housemarque and Nixxes, all in 2021. Most recently, Sony bought the Jade Raymond-founded startup Haven Studios in 2022, currently working on Fairgame$.