Sony Aims for 9000 Original IPs Annually with Kadokawa Investment

Now backed by the Sony Group, Kadokawa is setting ambitious goals to publish 9000 original IP titles annually. Discover how they plan to achieve this impressive target!

Kadokawa Aims High With 9000 IP Publications Annually

Sony Group Is Its Biggest Shareholder

With Sony's significant investment and acquisition of a 10% stake, Kadokawa is poised to ramp up its publishing efforts to reach 9000 original IP titles per year. In an interview with the Japanese newspaper Nikkei (The Nihon Keizai Shimbun), Kadokawa President Takeshi Natsuno announced plans to increase their publishing output to 9,000 titles annually by fiscal year 2027. This ambitious goal represents a 1.5 times increase over their output in fiscal year 2023.

Image From Kadokawa’s Official Website

As Sony Group becomes Kadokawa's largest shareholder, the company is set to expand its reach overseas, leveraging Sony's "global distribution infrastructure" to distribute its IPs worldwide. Kadokawa is confident in achieving this target, with their medium-term management plan outlining a goal of 7,000 titles by fiscal year 2025.

To support this expansion, Kadokawa plans to increase its editorial staff to around 1,000, a 1.4 times increase, to enhance efficiency and meet growth targets without overburdening existing staff.

More Titles, More Adaptations, Natsuno Says

In alignment with these changes, Kadokawa is set to enhance its offerings through a "media mix strategy," which will see their IPs adapted into anime and video games. President Natsuno emphasized, "We want to create a system where pursuing variety and diversity in our works leads to major hits."

Sony stands to gain significantly from Kadokawa's market expansion, particularly through its ownership of the anime streaming platform Crunchyroll, which boasts over 15 million paid subscribers. This partnership will enable more Kadokawa IPs to be featured on Crunchyroll, enriching its anime collection.

Kadokawa's extensive IP library includes popular titles such as Bungo Stray Dogs, Oshi no Ko, The Rising of the Shield Hero, Delicious in Dungeon, and My Happy Marriage. Their portfolio also encompasses renowned video game IPs like Elden Ring, Dragon Quest (FromSoftware), the Danganronpa series (Spike Chunsoft), and Mario & Luigi Brotherhood (Acquire), developed by companies within the Kadokawa group.

Sony has expressed interest in expanding into the multimedia market, aiming to produce more live-action film and TV show adaptations, co-produce anime adaptations, and handle their overseas distribution.