Dark Souls and Elden Ring creator Hidetaka Miyazaki recently commented on the shareholder pressure that is putting FromSoftware parent company Kadokawa in the news lately. Reassuring fans, he insisted that Fromsoftware can still “freely make the kind of games we want to make without excessive interference.”
Kadokawa has been in the news in Japan lately, as an activist investment firm has gradually acquired the largest stake in the Japanese multimedia conglomerate. As previously reported by IGN back in March, Oasis Management Company is a major activist investor in Kadokawa that has raised its stake to 13.76%, according to Kadokawa’s latest AGM announcement. For context, this even beats out second biggest shareholder Sony’s 11.01% stake.
Not to be confused with political activism, an activist investor is an individual or company that aims to purchase a significant minority stake in other companies so that they can influence how they are operated or managed, usually with the aim of boosting shareholder returns.
On its website A Better Kadokawa, Oasis recognizes the huge financial success that FromSoftware has brought Kadokawa with its acclaimed series like Armored Core and Dark Souls and, of course, Elden Ring. However, it claimed that “Kadokawa fails to capture FromSoftware’s full value, ceding economics to external partners.”
This has got Dark Souls and Elden Ring fans worried about how Oasis may impact future FromSoftware titles. After all, this is the same Oasis that back in 2014 tried to persuade Nintendo to move towards mobile games, saying, “Just think of paying 99 cents just to get Mario to jump a little higher.”
Oasis has already called for the removal of current Kadokawa CEO Takeshi Natsuno (for company financial performance reasons). Kadokawa announced on June 3 that it will oppose the proposal to dismiss Natsuno at its upcoming annual shareholders meeting on June 24. If a new CEO were in place at Kadokawa, could they force FromSoftware to make different kinds of games, cash in on its franchises in some way, or perhaps force the developer to release new games more frequently?
Denfaminico Gamer reached out to Dark Souls and Elden Ring creator Hidetaka Miyazaki to get his take on the situation as a developer at FromSoftware. In his emailed response, Miyazaki stated that although he is aware of what has been reported in the media regarding Oasis and Kadokawa’s situation, he was unable to address the matter in depth.
Miyazaki said that overall, he is satisfied with the creative environment at FromSoftware. “I’m not saying that there’s no room for improvement but we can freely make the kind of games we want to make without excessive interference.”
“I think for both myself and for FromSoftware, the most important thing going forward is to maintain this environment and focus as much as possible on game development,” Miyazaki continued.
Addressing players, he said that FromSoftware is working harder than ever to create amazing games, adding that he hopes players “will look forward to both the announced and unannounced titles to come.”
In announced titles, Switch 2 players have Elden Ring Tarnished Edition as well as new action title The Duskbloods to look forward to later this year from FromSoftware. Elden Ring’s arrival on Switch 2 rounds out the possible platforms for the game, which has sold a huge 30 million copies worldwide, With the multiplayer spinoff Elden Ring: Nightreign now over a year old, fans are wondering what’s next from FromSoftware. Could Elden Ring 2 be on the cards? In December 2024, Miyazaki said the developer was not considering making Elden Ring 2, but wouldn’t shut down the possibility in the future. If not, there is an Elden Ring movie in the works.
Verity Townsend is a Japan-based freelance writer who previously served as editor, contributor and translator for the game news site Automaton West. She has also written about Japanese culture and movies for various publications.
