The boss of Japanese company Kadokawa has survived a shareholder vote on his future amid increasing pressure from an activist investor who believes the company has failed to capitalize on Elden Ring’s enormous success.
Reuters reported on the result of a showdown between Kadokawa CEO Takeshi Natsuno and Hong Kong-based Oasis Management, which is now the company’s largest shareholder with a 13.76% stake, during a meeting of shareholders. While Natsuno has survived for now, Automaton reported that Oasis has just upped its stake to 15.25%, with plans to increase it further.
Elden Ring is from legendary video game developer FromSoftware, which is owned by Kadokawa. It has sold an astonishing 30 million copies — a figure that is sure to rise with the release of Tarnished Edition in August. Elden Ring launched in 2022, and since then has released expansion Shadow of the Erdtree (2024) and multiplayer spinoff, Elden Ring Nightreign (2025), but Oasis wants more financial return from the franchise.
Part of Oasis’ complaint about Kadokawa and indeed Elden Ring is that it does not publish the game itself globally. While FromSoftware self-publishes Elden Ring in Japan, Bandai Namco publishes the game internationally, reducing profit. Oasis wants Kadokawa to self-publish its games everywhere.
Meanwhile, Sony’s high-profile investment in Kadokawa amounted to just a 10% stake and little has come of it.
“FromSoftware is Kadokawa’s crown-jewel asset: a globally recognized studio with a loyal international fanbase and a proven ability to create blockbuster titles such as Elden Ring,” Oasis has said. “Yet Kadokawa continues to leave a meaningful share of the economics from these titles with third-party publishing partners, creating a significant and ongoing loss of value for all of Kadokawa’s stakeholders.”
Oasis has insisted it isn’t trying to force a sale of FromSoftware (there have been all sorts of rumors about various video game companies buying it over the years). Oasis instead believes FromSoftware should be the “central driver” of Kadokawa’s long-term growth.
“Our point is that FromSoftware must be managed with the ambition, investment, and strategic focus that an asset of its quality deserves,” Oasis said. “Its employees, creators, and fans deserve ownership and leadership that are fully committed to helping the studio realize its extraordinary global potential.”
Earlier this month, celebrated FromSoftware director and architect of its hit games, Hidetaka Miyazaki, commented on the shareholder pressure Kadokawa is under. Reassuring fans, he insisted that FromSoftware can still “freely make the kind of games we want to make without excessive interference.”
FromSoftware has Elden Ring Tarnished Edition as well as new action title The Duskbloods to look forward to later this year. But fans are wondering what’s next from the developer. Could Elden Ring 2 be on the cards? In December 2024, Miyazaki said the developer was not considering making Elden Ring 2, but wouldn’t shut down the possibility in the future. If not, there is an Elden Ring movie in the works.
Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at [email protected] or confidentially at [email protected].
