Kadokawa Corporation, the primary owner of FromSoftware, revealed exciting plans in its November 2024 fiscal report. One of them includes the development of 26 new games across its subsidiaries, 20 of which are headed to consoles. The major Japanese media industry player that bought 80% of FromSoftware in 2014 shared that its games sector has been on the rise. Its driven largely by the massive success of Elden Ring and the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC.
Aside from the Elden Ring and Dark Souls developer FromSoftware, game companies under the Kadokawa umbrella include:
- Acquire: Octopath Traveler, Shinobido, Way of the Samurai.
- Spike Chunsoft: Danganronpa, Shiren the Wanderer.
- Gotcha Gotcha Games: RPG Maker.
All four Kadokawa subsidiaries including FromSoftware are currently working on 20 undisclosed console games and steadily ‘expanding the development and publishing’ pipelines.
The Japanese conglomerate reported a 10.9% year-on-year increase in net sales and a 27.6% rise in operating profit. This growth is driven by strong Elden Ring sales as well as its DLC globally. Thanks to this, for the first time since 2022, Kadokawa’s game revenue surpassed 10 billion Yen or $65 million, following Elden Ring’s initial launch hit.
Now, the company aims to expand its in-house publishing for console and PC titles, hoping to capitalize on the game’s popularity. To do that, Kadokawa plans to ‘maximize the lifetime value’ of top performing IPs, like FromSoftware Elden Ring, through DLC and consistent updates. It’s making a ‘united efforts’ to push a global media mix, ensuring each IP isn’t stuck in Japan and can reach fans around the world.
While the 20 console games are a major focus, Kadokawa is also preparing six mobile games. They’re developed by its in-house team and Vic Game Studios, which will focus on yet unrevealed ‘collaborative titles.’ Continuing the good news from Kadokawa, FromSoftware also recently announced it’s increasing the average staff salary by 11.8% starting April 2025.
