Shareholder showdown: loot split, CEO on thin ice
Think Elden Ring only crowned FromSoftware as a king of studios? Turns out it also lit a fuse at Kadokawa. Oasis Management, a Hong Kong activist fund, has quietly amassed a 13.76% stake and went full raid on the parent company, arguing Kadokawa let valuable earnings slip away after the studio and Bandai Namco split up who handled what for the game’s release.
For context: Elden Ring smashed through 30 million sales, snagged a pile of Game of the Year nods, and became one of FromSoftware’s flagship franchises. Oasis says Kadokawa didn’t cash in as hard as it could’ve — calling the setup a likely “material leakage of profits.” Kadokawa pushed back, warning that ousting CEO Takeshi Natsuno mid-reform would destabilize the company. Natsuno ultimately kept his job after the investor meeting, but the whole affair got support from proxy advisors like ISS and Glass Lewis, so it wasn’t a garden-variety complaint.
The dispute didn’t happen in a vacuum. Kadokawa’s 2025 return on equity plunged to 0.5% from 9.4% in 2022 (the Elden Ring year), and the company is still dealing with a 2024 data breach plus probes into freelance working conditions. All of that made shareholders less patient — and louder.
Why gamers should care (and what could actually change)
Okay, corporate infighting is one thing — but why does it matter to players? Simple: it affects how future FromSoftware projects are funded, marketed, and distributed. If Kadokawa shifts strategy to squeeze more value from Elden Ring and related IP, we could see bigger budgets for sequels, more spin-offs, extra merch, quicker global rollouts, or a push for multimedia tie-ins (yes, that includes the film adaptation already in the works).
On the flip side, boardroom drama can slow things down. Management changes or internal upheaval risk delays, tighter budgets, or awkward publisher handoffs that ripple into release windows, localization quality, and DLC plans. Fans who want more Souls-style content and polished releases should pay attention — this kind of fight can shape what studios are allowed to make and how quickly we actually get it.
Final note: Oasis’s claims about lost profits are their position, not a courtroom ruling — Kadokawa has defended its approach and the CEO remains in place for now. Still, the heat from big shareholders means changes could be coming, and that could be great or messy for gamers. Either way, it makes for a much better storyline than another patch note.
