Sony interested in buying gaming & anime giant Kadokawa

Sony is reportedly "in talks", with the goal being to buy out Kadokawa Corporation. Both companies refused to make any official comment on the story, which was brought to light by a pair of mystery informants that were "familiar with the matter". It would be easy to dismiss this as mere rumor, if not for the fact that the news broke exclusively on Reuters, implying that the well-regarded outlet had gotten the information from somewhere that it considered worth trusting. Rumor or not, the implications of a deal like this could be massive. 

A juggernaut in the anime and gaming spaces, Kadokawa is a publisher that generally works with a writer to publish a light novel, then gets a studio on board to turn it into an anime. Some of the most notable success stories under the studio's belt include popular titles like The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, Kill la Kill, Konosuba. The company also holds majority ownership in a number of game studios, the most notable of which is FromSoftware. The developer of Elden Ring and Armored Core, among other hits, is owned mostly by Kadokawa, with Sony and a Tencent subsidiary owning the rest. That means this buyout, if it happens, would give Sony the vast majority of ownership in the studio. 

There are multiple reasons that Sony could be contemplating a move like this. One of the biggest things that jumps to mind is the fact that Sony owns Crunchyroll, a dominant player in the anime streaming world. Buying Kadokawa would give Sony leverage and rights for a wealth of material that would benefit Crunchyroll. Sony is also a big name in the gaming world, and having a stronger link to the studios under the Kadokawa umbrella could see the company bolster Playstation's market position. Along with From Software, Kadokawa holds rights to fairly big names like RPG Maker, Danganronpa, and even the recent and successful Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero.