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Following the transaction, which will raise 36.4 billion yen
($263 million), units of Tencent Holdings Ltd and Sony Group
Corp will hold 16.25% and 14.09%, respectively, with publishing
giant Kadokawa retaining 69.66%.
The multi-platform fantasy title, which is published by Bandai
Namco outside of Japan, is a collaboration between veteran game
director Hidetaka Miyazaki and "Game of Thrones" author George
R. R. Martin. It had sold 16.6 million units worldwide by the
end of June.
The transaction is the latest investment in Japan by Chinese
gaming giant Tencent and extends spending by entertainment
conglomerate Sony as that company looks to shore up its leading
industry position in the face of deep-pocketed rivals. Tencent
and Sony already have stakes in Kadokawa itself.
"The investment shows that Tencent is still active in expanding
their footprint outside China in big ways," said Serkan Toto,
founder of the Kantan Games consultancy, describing FromSoftware
as a "commercial and creative powerhouse."
The deal could lead to preferential treatment for Sony's
platform over such rivals as Microsoft Corp's Xbox with future
FromSoftware titles, although they were unlikely to become
PlayStation exclusives, Toto added.
($1 = 138.4600 yen)
(Reporting by Sam Nussey; Editing by Chang-Ran Kim and Bradley
Perrett)
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