Sony and Tencent acquire an increased share in Elden Ring developer FromSoftware

Best FromSoftware games — (Image credit: From Software)

Sony and Chinese publishing giant Tencent are both set to increase their stake in Elden Ring and Dark Souls developer FromSoftware.

In an announcement this morning, FromSoft parent company Kadokawa Corporation - which remains the majority owner of the developer - confirmed that Sony now owns 14.09% of FromSoftware. Tencent - arguably best known in the West as the company behind League of Legends developer Riot Games - now owns 16.25% of the studio.

Kadokawa Corporation says that the aim of the sale is to "proactively invest in development of more powerful game UP [...] to strengthen FromSoftware's development capabilities." It also mentions Tencent's "strength in its capabilities to develop and deploy mobile games and other network technologies in the global market," implying that FromSoft could be looking into mobile gaming in some capacity.

While none of the companies involved in the sale have mentioned specific plans, fans have their own wishlist. 'Bloodborne' has begun trending on Twitter as desire for a Bloodborne sequel continues to grow. Beyond that, attention is likely to turn to Elden Ring - as well as hopes for upcoming Elden Ring DLC, FromSoftware and publisher Bandai Namco have discussed their desire for the title to act as the start of a new franchise. While the future of Elden Ring seems in a better space than its more gothic older brother, it's far from clear at this point what we can expect from the deal, and Kadokawa Corporation suggests that the deal's impact on its 2023 financial results is likely to be "minor."

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I'm GamesRadar's Managing Editor for news, shaping the news strategy across the team. I started my journalistic career while getting my degree in English Literature at the University of Warwick, where I also worked as Games Editor on the student newspaper, The Boar. Since then, I've run the news sections at PCGamesN and Kotaku UK, and also regularly contributed to PC Gamer. As you might be able to tell, PC is my platform of choice, so you can regularly find me playing League of Legends or Steam's latest indie hit.