Tencent, Sony to take stakes in 'Elden Ring' maker FromSoftware

Units of Tencent and Sony will take minority stakes via a third-party allotment in FromSoftware, the Japanese developer of hit action role-playing title Elden Ring.

Tencent Holdings and Sony Group units will receive 16.25 percent and 14.09 percent stakes, respectively, in the $263 million transaction.

Kadokawa will keep 69.66 percent of the company.

The multiplatform fantasy title is a collaboration between veteran game director Hidetaka Miyazaki and "Game of Thrones" author George R. R. Martin and is published by Bandai Namco outside of Japan. By the end of June, it had sold 16.6 million units worldwide.

Tencent's latest investment in Japan comes in the form of this transaction.

According to Serkan Toto, founder of the Kantan Games consultancy, the deal could mean Sony's platform gets preferential treatment when it comes to FromSoftware titles, over such rivals as Microsoft's Xbox, although they are unlikely to become PlayStation exclusives.