Xbox fans can breath a sigh of relief, at least for now.
A few weeks ago, rumors began to swirl that FromSoftware parent company Kadokawa was potentially looking to sell to Sony, giving Xbox's arch-rival ownership of blockbuster franchises like Elden Ring. FromSoftware has become an industry giant in recent years, thanks to non-stop success across franchises like Dark Souls and Armored Core, the former of which defined an entire genre.
FromSoftware has a storied history with PlayStation, developing Demon's Souls and Bloodborne as console exclusive titles back in the day. FromSoftware also developed an Xbox exclusive title named Ninja Blade as well, some may remember, although let's say it wasn't nearly as well received as some of their other titles ...
Parent company Kadokawa is also a giant in the anime and manga industry, which is an avenue Sony has increasingly pushed into as its legacy hardware business declined. As such, the acquisition would have made a huge amount of sense for the Japanese giant, although it doesn't seem to be happening for the time being.
KADOKAWA and Sony Agree to Form Strategic Capital and Business Alliance - Sony acquiring 12,054,100 new KADOKAWA shares for approximately 50 billion yen. Sony will become KADOKAWA's largest shareholder, holding approximately 10% of its shares, including the shares Sony previously… pic.twitter.com/RipHb76U85December 19, 2024
Spotted by Wario64, Sony and Kadokawa have wrapped up their discussions and created a "Strategic Capital and Business Alliance," with Kadokawa issuing 12,054,100 new shares to lend Sony a 10% stake in the business. That stake now makes Sony the biggest shareholder in Kadokawa, outstripping Tencent's own previous 6.86% stake. Tencent previously paid around $264 million USD for its own "strategic business alliance" with Kadokawa. Sony's is worth roughly $331.2 million USD by comparison.
The content war is just heating up
As I outlined in a recent article, Xbox is struggling to find its footing in a universe where Sony PlayStation has become completely dominant with traditional console gamers. Xbox was able to pull a bit of a coup during the Xbox 360 era, but the chances of something like that happening again are pretty slim, given that everybody is now digitally locked in to specific platforms.
In any case, Xbox fans have grown increasingly worried that, with Xbox sales in freefall decline, AAA developers might end up pulling out of the platform, leading it towards a death spiral. So far, there's no evidence of that happening, as Xbox console engagement remains steady according to Microsoft, but as the PlayStation 6 and Nintendo Switch 2 roll into view, that engagement could very well drop off a cliff.
Microsoft has a huge messaging problem for its console business and it seems to be burying its head in the sand over it. Instead, it's marketing towards new gamers outside of Xbox, targeting Samsung TVs, phones, and even other consoles to promote its content. Microsoft acquired mountains of games from World of Warcraft to Call of Duty to Fallout to The Elder Scrolls over the last few years, and so far, it has done very little to weaponize them to grow its console user base.
With Sony having a bigger ear at Kadokawa, PlayStation could "strategically" lobby to see future games like Elden Ring 2 or whatever else FromSoftware works on arbitrarily skip Xbox. We've seen Sony pull these kinds of deals with Final Fantasy and Capcom in the past. A full buyout would likely have led to this scenario more quickly, but an investment stake indicates that, at least for now, Xbox will remain a target platform for FromSoftware.
How long Xbox remains viable as a target platform for businesses and consumers alike remains to be seen, but it's true that it has received better third-party support than ever in recent times. Previously-exclusive PlayStation titles like Yakuza, Genshin Impact, Final Fantasy, Death Stranding, and many more have been heading to the Xbox pastures.
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