Sony buys equity stake in Bandai Namco

Sony has made another strategic move as it seeks to improve partnerships to bolster its gaming and anime businesses. This time around, Sony has bought a 2.5% equity stake in Bandai Namco, known for a massive range of licensed anime games, as well as publishing massive hits like The Witcher 3 and Elden Ring.

In a joint statement, Sony and Bandai Namco explained that the alliance will focus on expanding fan communities around the world, particularly for anime and manga IP, while leveraging each other’s strengths to co-create new content and maximise IP value.

Bandai Namco is home to franchises like Tekken, Pac-Man, Soul Calibur, and Ace Combat. It also has close working relationships with studios like CD Projekt Red and From Software, having published hits like the Dark Souls, Elden Ring and The Witcher 3. The publisher is also well known for its stable of licensed anime games for franchises like Dragon Ball, Naruto, One Piece and newer hits like Jujutsu Kaisen and Demon Slayer.

This isn't the first time Sony has invested in a third-party publisher to strengthen its position. Sony also holds shares in companies like Epic Games, From Software, Devolver Digital and Kadokawa.

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KitGuru Says: This is a small stake, so we don't expect too much to happen on the game front. On the anime side though, this could be very interesting, as Sony now has anime production & distribution capabilities thanks to the acquisitions of Crunchyroll and Funimation. 

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