Worst possible people could be put in charge of Elden Ring studio
FromSoftware’s creative direction faces uncertainty as parent company Kadokawa Corporation becomes embroiled in a public dispute with Oasis Management, a major shareholder. Though FromSoftware is often associated with Sony and Bandai Namco, Kadokawa Corporation actually owns 70% of the studio, with Oasis Management holding 13.76% of Kadokawa’s shares and seeking greater influence over the company.
The concern centers on how new leadership could reshape FromSoftware’s approach to game design. The studio is renowned for deliberately challenging games like Dark Souls and Elden Ring—titles known for being punishing, obtuse, and sometimes unfair by design. Elden Ring achieved mainstream success despite (or because of) these qualities, becoming a cultural phenomenon. However, industry observers worry that corporate leadership focused purely on financial metrics might view the studio’s difficulty as a barrier to profitability, pushing for changes that would undermine what makes FromSoftware’s games distinctive.
The hypothetical concern involves pressure to make games more user-friendly and to implement aggressive monetization strategies, potentially transforming FromSoftware’s signature design philosophy into something more commercially conventional. This reflects broader anxieties in the gaming industry about creative integrity being sacrificed to shareholder interests, particularly as major publishers increasingly pursue live-service models and engagement-based revenue streams.
The outcome of Kadokawa’s dispute with Oasis Management could significantly influence whether FromSoftware maintains its independent creative vision or faces pressure to adopt industry-standard approaches to difficulty and monetization.