Sony acquires a slice of the Bandai Namco pie, snagging a stake in Elden Ring

Sony has struck a "strategic business alliance agreement" with Bandai Namco, further strengthening its ties to Elden Ring and FromSoftware. The partnership was announced on July 24 after Sony purchased a 2.5% stake in Bandai Namco. Both companies have made it clear that anime and manga are the main focus in this partnership.

Sony and Bandai Namco said in a joint statement: "Through this business alliance and Sony's investment in Bandai Namco, as two of the leading Japanese entertainment companies, Bandai Namco and Sony will focus on expanding the fan community for IP such as anime and manga around the world and strengthening engagement, particularly in the anime field where rapid market growth is anticipated, while merging their strengths to create new and emotionally moving experiences for fans, and as a result of these efforts maximize the value of IP."

The statement also mentions "the expansion of works as well as products and services based on IP developed by Bandai Namco." This seems to suggest Sony will have a hand in creating new content around Bandai Namco's IP, which could mean we could get more manga and anime spin-offs of Elden Ring, Dark Souls, Tekken, and other Bandai Namco franchises.

Of course, Elden Ring is already getting a highly-anticipated live-action film adaptation directed by Alex Garland and produced by A24. However, at the time of writing Sony doesn't have a direct hand in that project.

Elden Ring and Dark Souls have both had manga spin-offs, but neither has an anime series yet (despite whispers of a Dark Souls anime back in 2023). Likewise, Tekken got a Netflix anime in 2022, Tekken: Bloodline, but it was met with lackluster reviews.

So, it could be exciting to see Sony adapt some of Bandai Namco's biggest brands into anime and manga series (if done right, of course). This is the second major step Sony has taken in that direction. Back in December 2024, Sony also became the largest stakeholder in Kadokawa, FromSoftware's parent company.

That partnership also emphasized film, TV, and anime adaptations of Kadokawa's IP, with the press release specifically mentioning "initiatives to adapt KADOKAWA's IP into live-action films and TV dramas globally, co-produce anime works, [and] expand global distribution of KADOKAWA's anime works through the Sony Group."

On top of that, Sony purchased the anime-focused streaming service Crunchyroll in 2020 in a $1.2 billion acquisition. Between all three deals, it's abundantly clear that Sony is betting its future on expanding its role in the anime and manga world, particularly through videogame licenses.

As exciting as that could potentially be, some fans are concerned these partnerships could mean future Bandai Namco games will launch as PlayStation exclusives. Sony was the Japanese publisher for Demon's Souls (and published the 2020 remake), so it's certainly possible Sony is aiming to collaborate on FromSoftware games again. However, it's probably too soon to worry about console exclusivity, especially considering Sony has been porting more and more PlayStation exclusives over to Xbox in recent years.