FromSoftware’s Parent Company Kadokawa Keeps Its CEO After Investors Tried to Replace Him, Claiming “Material Profit Leakage” for not Capitalizing on Elden Ring’s Success

FromSoftware's parent company Kadokawa Corporation just nearly missed going through a major transition period. Kadokawa's chief executive officer, Takeshi Natsuno, has been able to keep his job as CEO, after some of the company's investors tried to have him replaced due to their claims that Natsuno has failed to properly capitalize on the success of Elden Ring.

This comes from a report from Reuters (via GamesIndustry.Biz), which also adds that while Natsuno is staying in the CEO chair for now, he's there with a much weaker support system than what he had just a year ago.

Back in 2025, Natsuno was re-elected to his role and his seat on the board with 90% of the board in favour of him as CEO. This time, however, he keeps his spot with just 59.68% of the vote. A majority, but a much slimmer one that also represents a drastic drop in a year's time.

The campaign to remove Natsuno from his role was led by Oasis Management, an activist investor group that has been trying to unseat executives from several companies in recent months, but has only been successful in one instance. The failure at Kadokawa is its most recent campaign miss.

Oasis argued "material profit leakage" from Natsuno allegedly not doing enough with the success of Elden Ring. Oasis also wasn't alone in its campaign, as another activist group, Institutional Shareholder Services, felt so strongly about finding a replacement that it argued, "While it may take time to find a replacement for Natsuno, this is a challenge worth accepting."

Oasis Management is also Kadokawa's largest investor as of this past March, with 11.89% stock ownership. If it continues to try and unseat Natsuno, it's not difficult to imagine that it could be successful in the near future, especially with how much Natusno's approval dropped in just one year.

If he is replaced, then that could mean whoever comes into his role will try to force FromSoftware into more projects or at the very least a faster output, something that the studio has already had to combat during Natsuno's tenure. Just two short weeks ago, we saw reports of FromSoftware having to reject investors' demand for 'safe sequels.'

We'd all like more FromSoftware games. The team is undoubtedly one of the best studios in the industry right now, consistently putting out games that push the entire industry forward. But it's been able to accomplish that in large part to going at its own pace. Creating what the teams are passionate about, and taking risks that bet on the talented artists working at the studio, instead of trying to bet on popular trends.

Kadokawa's investors may only see FromSoftware's process as lost profits, but to try and force more from the studio would likely be to its ruin, as we've seen a desire for year-on-year profit increase from shareholders drive studios towards closure many times before.

Also, for what it's worth, FromSoftware has taken the success of Elden Ring and turned that into a widely successful DLC expansion, a multi-million-selling multiplayer game and an upcoming major motion picture. Not to mention the upcoming Tarnished Edition port, and the fact that everything FromSoftware does, even more so than before Elden Ring came out, draws the attention of the entire video game industry.

Any attempt to mess with the very good thing FromSoftware has going for it would more than likely be to the detriment of Kadokawa and its investors, Oasis Management included.

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