Gaming giants Tencent and Sony have purchased more than 30% of shares in Elden Ring and Dark Souls developer From Software. Parent company Kadokawa still has a majority stake, but Sony and Tencent will now own 30.34% of the company between them.
Why have Sony and Tencent purchased these From Software shares?
In a document spotted by VGC, Kadokawa revealed that Sony has purchased 14.09% of From Software, with a company by the name of Sixjoy purchasing 16.25%. Sixjoy is a subsidiary of Tencent based in Hong Kong, so for all intents and purposes, that means Tencent has purchased those shares.
Apparently, Kadokawa wants to emphasize From Software's "creation, development, and deployment of game IP", which is why it allowed Sony and Tencent to purchase additional shares in the developer. The extra cash should help From Software to expand its development efforts and perhaps follow up the phenomenally successful Elden Ring (as well as the Dark Souls series) with something even more impressive.
Kadokawa says that the fund is intended to help From Software "proactively invest in development of more powerful game IP". The money will also help From Software to expand its publishing business; right now, the company only self-publishes its titles in Japan, with its Western releases being handled by external publishers like Activision or Bandai Namco. We'll have to wait and see what this new investment will yield for From Software.
What's next for From Software?
Right now, you'd be forgiven for thinking that From Software is basking in the huge success of Elden Ring, which has managed to sell 16.6 million units as of August this year. However, it looks like the company is already gearing up for whatever its next project might be; it recently started advertising for new employees to work on upcoming games, one of which is a new installment in the Armored Core series.
At the moment, we're not sure what From Software's next game is going to be. We know the studio is working on the aforementioned Armored Core title, but whether it intends to reveal that or another project first remains to be seen. There's also the rather moot subject of Elden Ring DLC, which may or may not be coming; the studio hasn't made any noises about it, but the game is so hugely successful that we'd be surprised if there weren't any plans to expand it at all. We'll bring you more news on that, and on all things From Software, as soon as we get it.
