Now backed by the Sony Group, Kadokawa aims high for 9000 original IP publications per year. Read on to discover their ambitious plans to achieve this goal!

Kadokawa Aims High With 9000 IP Publications Annually

Sony Group Is Its Biggest Shareholder

With a significant boost from Sony's investment and acquiring a 10% stake, Kadokawa is setting its sights on publishing 9000 original IP titles annually.

In an interview with the Japanese newspaper Nikkei (The Nihon Keizai Shimbun), Kadokawa President Takeshi Natsuno announced plans to ramp up their publishing output to 9,000 titles per year by fiscal year 2027. This ambitious target represents a 1.5 times increase from their fiscal year 2023 output.

Image From Kadokawa’s Official Website

As Sony Group now holds the position of Kadokawa's largest shareholder due to their recent alliance, Kadokawa plans to leverage Sony's "global distribution infrastructure" to expand its reach internationally. The company is confident in achieving this goal, as outlined in their medium-term management plan, aiming for 7,000 titles by fiscal year 2025.

To support this expansion, Kadokawa intends to grow its editorial team to around 1,000 members, a 1.4 times increase. This move aims to enhance efficiency and meet growth targets without overburdening the staff.

More Titles, More Adaptations, Natsuno Says

In alignment with these ambitious plans, Kadokawa is set to enhance its offerings through a "media mix strategy." This approach will see more of their IPs adapted into anime and games. President Natsuno emphasized, "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 market expansion. This partnership will facilitate the inclusion of more Kadokawa-owned IPs in Crunchyroll's anime lineup.

Kadokawa's rich IP portfolio includes notable titles such as Bungo Stray Dogs, Oshi no Ko, The Rising of the Shield Hero, Delicious in Dungeon, and My Happy Marriage, among others. Their gaming IPs are equally impressive, featuring hits like Elden Ring, Dragon Quest (FromSoftware), the Danganronpa series (Spike Chunsoft), and Mario & Luigi Brotherhood (Acquire), with their developers falling under the Kadokawa umbrella.

Sony has previously expressed interest in expanding into the multimedia market, with plans to produce more live-action films and TV shows, as well as co-producing and exporting anime adaptations globally.