Now backed by the Sony Group, Kadokawa is setting its sights on an ambitious goal: to publish 9000 original IP titles annually. Dive in to discover how they plan to reach these heights!

Kadokawa Aims High With 9000 IP Publications Annually

Sony Group Is Its Biggest Shareholder

With a significant investment from Sony, which now holds a 10% stake in the company, Kadokawa is poised to dramatically increase its output. In an interview with the Japanese newspaper Nikkei (The Nihon Keizai Shimbun), Kadokawa President Takeshi Natsuno outlined the company's plan to ramp up its publishing to 9,000 original IP titles per year by the fiscal year 2027. This ambitious target represents a 1.5-fold increase over their 2023 output.

Image From Kadokawa’s Official Website

Leveraging Sony's global distribution network, Kadokawa is set to expand internationally. The company is confident in its ability to meet these goals, as detailed in its medium-term management plan, which projects reaching 7,000 titles by fiscal year 2025.

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

More Titles, More Adaptations, Natsuno Says

As part of this expansion, Kadokawa is adopting a "media mix strategy" to diversify its offerings. This approach will see more of its IPs transformed into anime and video game adaptations. Natsuno emphasized the importance of variety and diversity in their works, stating, "We want to create a system where pursuing variety and diversity in our works leads to major hits."

Sony, with its ownership of the anime streaming platform Crunchyroll, which boasts over 15 million paid subscribers, stands to gain significantly from Kadokawa's growth. This partnership will facilitate the addition of more Kadokawa IPs to Crunchyroll's extensive anime library.

Kadokawa's impressive IP portfolio 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 gaming IPs are equally notable, featuring hits like Elden Ring, Dragon Quest (FromSoftware), the Danganronpa series (Spike Chunsoft), and Mario & Luigi Brotherhood (Acquire), among others, all developed by companies within the Kadokawa group.

Sony's interest in the multimedia market aligns well with Kadokawa's goals. Sony aims to expand its footprint in live-action films, TV shows, and co-productions of anime, while also handling the overseas distribution of these adaptations.