Sony and Tencent are set to increase their investment in Elden Ring developer FromSoftware, also makers of some of the best RPG games including the Dark Souls series, Bloodborne, Sekiro, and Armored Core among others. The deal was announced by FromSoftware’s parent company, Kadokawa Corporation, with both companies previously having previous minor investments in the developer.
The deal was announced in a press release published by Kadokawa Corporation president Takeshi Tasuno (via Gematsu). Sony Interactive Entertainment is expected to increase its previously minor investment in FromSoftware to a total of 14.09% of the developer’s total shares, while Tencent Holdings is to increase its investment to 16.25% of FromSoftware’s shares through its subsidiary group Sixjoy Hong Kong Limited.
Sony’s further investment has already sparked plenty of rumours online about the possibility of additional collaboration projects with FromSoftware. While the Elden Ring and Dark Souls IP rights are owned by their publisher Bandai Namco, Sony has previously published both Demon’s Souls and Bloodborne from the Japanese development studio – meaning that many fans are now speculating about the possibility of a Bloodborne sequel or a new original game in partnership with Sony following this deal. The copyright for Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, while published by Activision, actually sits with FromSoftware themselves.
Chinese holding company Tencent is likely best known among western videogame fans as the owner of League of Legends and Valorant developer Riot Games, but also holds a 40% stake in Fortnite developer Epic Games and a 5% share of Assassin’s Creed developer Ubisoft along with various investments in many other notable development studios.
None of the companies involved in this deal have spoken publicly about any specific plans, but of course fans will continue to speculate. Given Sony’s recent push to put PlayStation exclusive games on PC, there’s a chance we could still see any console-exclusive titles in the future make their way to gaming PCs. While we still don’t have Bloodborne on PC itself, the recent Bloodborne-inspired game Thymesia has been a hit on Steam, and the Pinnochio-themed Lies of P coming to Game Pass is certainly playing in similar territory.