FromSoftware parent CEO keeps position following activist investors' disappointment in firm's handling of Elden Ring

Kadokawa CEO Takeshi Natsuno survived an activist push to remove him at the company’s AGM, but the vote exposed a sharp drop in shareholder confidence: backing fell from 90% to 59.68% over the past year. Hong Kong-based Oasis Management had argued that Kadokawa suffered a “material profit leakage” from Elden Ring and should have done more to monetize FromSoftware’s breakout success.

That matters because Kadokawa owns FromSoftware and has been under pressure to turn a once-in-a-generation hit into broader long-tail value. Elden Ring drove a 123% jump in Kadokawa’s games revenue, has sold more than 30 million copies as of April 2025, and Shadow of the Erdtree has passed 10 million units. Even so, activist shareholders are clearly looking beyond raw sales and asking whether the parent company’s structure, licensing, and release cadence are optimized for capture.

Kadokawa says it will review its management structure, executive compensation, and progress on its medium-term business plan. That’s the part developers should watch: when a publisher or parent company comes under investor pressure, it can change how aggressively it pursues sequels, spin-offs, transmedia deals, and platform strategy. FromSoftware has already shipped Nightreign, its first Soulslike spin-off, and an Elden Ring film is slated for March 3, 2028.

The broader ownership picture also matters. Oasis Management now holds 11.89% of Kadokawa, ahead of Sony’s 10.04%, while Tencent owns 7.97% of the FromSoftware parent. For teams working inside large publisher structures, this is a useful case study in how...