Sony has acquired a large stake in FromSoftware’s parent company Kadokawa. This comes after reports that Sony was in talks to buy the company outright. It doesn’t seem like that’s happening, but Sony has increased its total ownership of Kadokawa to ten percent after spending around $300 million on more shares. This makes Sony the largest shareholder of the Japanese publisher.
Sony has likely made this move to get its hands on some of Kadokawa’s IP, including the entire catalog of FromSoftware games and franchises created by Spike Chunsoft and Gotcha Gotcha Games. Kadokawa also publishes plenty of anime and manga. A press release states that the two companies will now “discuss specific initiatives for collaboration”, which will include “live-action films and TV dramas”.
Does this mean we’ll get an Elden Ring or Dark Souls movie soon? These are some of Kadokawa’s most prominent franchises, so it’s certainly possible. The companies have also promised to “promote the global expansion of a wide range of entertainment, including anime and games.”
As for console exclusivity, don’t hold your breath. Sony already owns a 14 percent stake in FromSoftware and games like Elden Ring and Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice are available for PlayStation consoles, Xbox consoles, and PC. To that end, some co-op DLC is coming to Elden Ring sometime next year.
Whether it’s Walkman portables and old Trinitron TVs or twenty-first century PlayStation consoles, Alpha cameras, and top-notch headphones, Sony has long been a mainstay at CES. But for the past few years at the world’s largest electronics trade show, Sony has opted to focus on a different area: automotive.
The Afila electric vehicle dominated Sony’s 2023 and 2024 CES press conferences, and we know this trend will continue in 2025, with its presence at the Sony event (and followup press conference) already confirmed.
What to expect at Sony’s CES 2025 press conference
The Afila is the first product from Sony Honda Mobility, a joint venture between the Japanese electronics and transportation giants. After a surprise rollout at CES 2023, the Sony CES press conference at CES 2024 revealed additional details about the EV’s LiDAR-heavy sensor array and AI-enhanced cabin tech (the latter coming with help from Microsoft).
If the car’s previously announced scheduling waypoints — preorders in 2025 ahead of 2026 availability — hold, we’re hoping to hear which of Afeela’s concept car features will actually make the cut once it hits real-world roads.
Of course, Afeela won’t be all over Vegas all the time. Expect Sony to spend time talking about its imaging, gaming, or perhaps even its movie studio division. And with any luck, we’ll get more details about the company’s XR headset, which was shown off at the 2024 show but never seen again. CES 2025 would be the perfect place to showcase a cool update to a potential rival to the Apple Vision Pro.