Sony Wants to Buy Kadokawa and Their Employees Are Thrilled

Sony's proposed acquisition of Kadokawa has sparked a surprising reaction: employee enthusiasm. Despite potential loss of independence, Kadokawa staff express optimism about the tech giant's involvement. Let's explore the reasons behind this positive outlook.

Sony and Kadokawa: Ongoing Negotiations

While Sony has publicly declared its intent to acquire Kadokawa, and Kadokawa has acknowledged this, final decisions are pending. Analyst perspectives are divided. Takahiro Suzuki of Weekly Bunshun suggests the acquisition benefits Sony more than Kadokawa. Sony, shifting from electronics to entertainment, lacks strong IP creation capabilities. Kadokawa's extensive IP portfolio, encompassing popular anime (like Oshi no Ko and Dungeon Meshi), manga, and games (including Elden Ring), makes it an attractive target for Sony to bolster its content offerings.

However, this acquisition could compromise Kadokawa's autonomy. As noted by Automaton West, increased oversight from Sony might stifle Kadokawa's creative freedom, potentially leading to stricter scrutiny of projects not directly contributing to IP development.

Unexpected Optimism Among Kadokawa Employees

Counterintuitively, many Kadokawa employees reportedly welcome the acquisition. Interviews with Weekly Bunshun suggest a prevailing positive sentiment, with employees expressing a preference for Sony over the current leadership.

This positive response stems partly from dissatisfaction with the current Natsuno administration. A veteran employee cited the inadequate response to a June cyberattack by the BlackSuit hacking group, which compromised over 1.5 terabytes of data, including sensitive employee information. The perceived lack of decisive action by President and CEO Takeshi Natsuno has fueled employee discontent, leading to hopes that a Sony acquisition might bring about leadership changes. The sentiment is that a change in leadership is preferable to the status quo.