Developer FromSoftware’s next game may be based on an anime. Kadokawa Corporation, the parent company of FromSoftware, released its financial results today for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2022. In the report, the company details its mid-term plan, which includes an entry for “Development of console games originating from books and animated titles.” Underneath this text, logos for three of Kadokawa’s subsidiaries are pictured: FromSoftware, Spike Chunsoft, and Gotcha Gotcha Games.
FromSoftware is well-known for producing video games with dark, fantasy atmospheres and punishingly brutal difficulty. This combination has earned it worldwide acclaim and even spawned a new game genre — the “souls like.” The developer’s most recent game, Elden Ring (which was penned in part by A Song of Ice and Fire author George R.R. Martin) had been the company’s most successful title to date. The game recently passed 13.4 million units sold worldwide.
Kadokawa Corporation is a multimedia Japanese conglomerate that counts manga, anime, film, video games, advertising, and even real estate divisions under its umbrella. The company’s mid-term plan details a diverse approach that seeks to take advantage of its many properties. This includes the expansion of its domestic publishing market share, the creation of hit IPs originating overseas, and the accelerated expansion of mobile games. There is even an entry for the support of NFTs, blockchain, and the metaverse.
While it may be a bit jarring for video game fans to think of the developer of such titles as Dark Souls and Bloodborne tackling subjects like Sword Art Online and Angel Beats, from the financial perspective of Kadokawa Corporation, it could make perfect sense.
