Sony and Tencent have increased their stake in Elden Ring developer FromSoftware, now owning over 30% of the company between them.
Sony now owns 14.09 percent of the company while Tencent, via its Sixjoy subsidiary, now owns 16.25 percent. FromSoftware clearly aims to capitalize on this increased investment, with majority stakeholder Kadokawa issuing the following statement:
“FromSoftware decided to conduct the Third-Party Allotment to Sixjoy within the Tencent Group, which has strength in its capabilities to develop and deploy mobile games and other network technologies in the global market including China, and SIE within the Sony Group, which has strength in its capabilities to deploy IP in games, videos and various other media in the global market, concurrently and separately.”
However, Kadokawa, which still owns 69.66 percent of FromSoftware, also asserted the company will double down on creating its own IP.
“FromSoftware will aim to proactively invest in development of more powerful game IP for itself to strengthen FromSoftware’s development capabilities and will seek to establish a framework that allows the expansion of the scope of its own publishing in the significantly growing global market.”
Elden Ring is just the latest in FromSoftware’s long list of popular games. The likes of Bloodborne, Dark Souls, and Sekiro have catapulted the studio to become one of the most popular developers in the world, with Elden Ring becoming one of the 10 best-selling games in US history. Not a bad investment for Sony and Tencent.
Of course, Elden Ring is clearly a big part of FromSoftware’s plans going forward. One of the company’s best-selling games, it also managed to secure the biggest YouTube launch in history with a staggering 3 billion views in just 60 days. Back in March, publisher Bandai Namco and FromSoftware released a joint statement calling the game “a fantastic start for the new franchise.”
“Much effort was placed into creating Elden Ring so that we could exceed the expectations of our fans worldwide," said Bandai Namco boss Yasuo Miyakawa. "In like manner, we will continue our efforts in expanding the brand beyond the game itself, and into everyone's daily life.”
Clearly, there’s more Elden Ring to come in the long term, and that’s likely a big reason why both Sony and Tencent are keen to increase their stake in the company.
When that will appear remains to be seen. Want some help tackling Elden Ring? Check out our full walkthrough for help playing through the game, and look up our boss guides if you’re having trouble with these major boss fights.
Ryan Leston is an entertainment journalist and film critic for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.