Kadokawa Corporation faces pressure from activist investors, including Oasis Management, to change its gaming strategy ahead of a June 24 shareholder meeting in Japan. The proposals target the company’s reliance on external partners such as Bandai Namco and push for FromSoftware to move toward self publishing its games.
Investors Target Kadokawa Gaming Strategy
Oasis Management launched a campaign to remove Kadokawa chief executive Takeshi Natsuno by accusing him of mismanaging the entire company. The investment fund claims Kadokawa loses massive amounts of revenue whenever they allow external companies to publish FromSoftware titles.
Investors point to Elden Ring as the main example because FromSoftware published the game in Japan while Bandai Namco handled all overseas distribution. The financial presentation proves that more than ninety percent of sales originated outside Japan leaving Kadokawa with only a small fraction of the massive global profits.
Oasis argues that Kadokawa has expanded its internal capabilities and that modern digital distribution makes self publishing more practical than in the past. The fund says it has pushed this idea since 2020 and notes that self publishing appeared in Kadokawa management plans in 2023 before being removed later.
The presentation also includes a scenario analysis stating that if FromSoftware releases another hit game with more than 30 million copies sold, continued reliance on external publishers would again reduce potential revenue for Kadokawa shareholders.
Self Publishing Debate and Studio Constraints
Oasis Management claims FromSoftware should take full control of publishing for its own games, including future major releases. However, the situation is complex because the studio does not fully own several of its major intellectual properties.
Elden Ring is fully owned by FromSoftware, which means future entries could be self published. At the same time, franchises such as Dark Souls, Demon’s Souls, and Bloodborne involve rights held by Bandai Namco and Sony, which would require new agreements for any publishing changes.
The next FromSoftware project, The Duskbloods, is fully owned by the studio, including publishing rights. This makes it one of the first major tests of whether the company is moving toward a more independent publishing model.
Kadokawa owns a controlling stake in FromSoftware, the studio behind Elden Ring, Dark Souls, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, and Bloodborne. Bandai Namco has long served as a key global publishing partner for several of these titles, especially Elden Ring, which became one of the most successful releases in the studio’s history.
Comments2