Sony Aims for 9000 Original IPs Annually with Kadokawa Investment

Now backed by the Sony Group, Kadokawa has set an ambitious target of 9000 original IP publications per year. Discover how they plan to achieve this remarkable goal!

Kadokawa Aims High With 9000 IP Publications Annually

Sony Group Is Its Biggest Shareholder

With Sony's significant investment and acquisition of 10% of its shares, Kadokawa has set a new target to publish 9000 original IP titles annually. In a recent interview with the Japanese newspaper Nikkei (The Nihon Keizai Shimbun), Kadokawa President Takeshi Natsuno outlined the company's plan to ramp up its publishing output to 9,000 titles by the fiscal year 2027. This ambitious goal represents a 1.5-fold increase over their output in the fiscal year 2023.

Image From Kadokawa’s Official Website

As Sony Group becomes its largest shareholder, Kadokawa is set to leverage Sony's global distribution infrastructure to expand its reach overseas. The company is confident in reaching this target, with its medium-term management plan forecasting the achievement of 7,000 titles by the fiscal year 2025.

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

More Titles, More Adaptations, Natsuno Says

As part of its strategy to enhance its offerings, Kadokawa is implementing a "media mix strategy" to bring more of its IPs to life through anime and game adaptations. President Natsuno emphasized, "We want to create a system where pursuing variety and diversity in our works leads to major hits."

This partnership is also beneficial for Sony, which owns the anime streaming platform Crunchyroll, serving over 15 million paid subscribers. The collaboration will enable Crunchyroll to expand its anime collection with more Kadokawa-owned IPs.

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. Additionally, their portfolio features renowned video game IPs like Elden Ring, Dragon Quest (FromSoftware), the Danganronpa series (Spike Chunsoft), and Mario & Luigi Brotherhood (Acquire), developed by studios under the Kadokawa group.

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