Now backed by the Sony Group, Kadokawa aims high for 9000 original IP publications per year. Read on to find out how they plan to achieve their goals!
Kadokawa Aims High With 9000 IP Publications Annually
Sony Group Is Its Biggest Shareholder
Following Sony’s massive investment and acquiring 10% of its shares, Kadokawa is now aiming for 9000 published original IP titles per year.
Speaking to Japanese newspaper Nikkei (The Nihon Keizai Shimbun), Kadokawa President Takeshi Natsuno revealed that the company plans to increase its publishing output to 9,000 titles yearly by fiscal year 2027. This number is 1.5 times larger than their output in fiscal year 2023.
Image From Kadokawa’s Official Website
With the Sony Group now its biggest shareholder following their new alliance-agreement, Kadokawa will then attempt to expand overseas and make use of Sony’s "global distribution infrastructure" to deliver its IPs across the globe. Kadokawa is quite confident that it will reach this number, even detailing in its medium-term management plan that it will be able to achieve 7,000 titles by fiscal 2025.
Additionally, the Japanese multimedia conglomerate plans to recruit more editorial staff to around 1,000, increasing the count by 1.4 times. This is to increase efficiency and to reach their growth targets while not overloading staff with tons of work.
More Titles, More Adaptations, Natsuno Says
In line with the new changes, Kadokawa aims to improve on its offerings by implementing a "media mix strategy" that will bring their other IPs to life through anime and game adaptations. “We want to create a system where pursuing variety and diversity in our works leads to major hits,” shared Natsuno.
Sony will also benefit greatly from Kadokawa’s market expansion—after all, Sony owns anime streaming website Crunchyroll, which offers its services to over 15 million paid subscribers. The partnership will allow more Kadokawa-owned IPs to be added to its anime collection.
Kadokawa boasts a rich IP library, such as Bungo Stray Dogs, Oshi no Ko, The Rising of the Shield Hero, Delicious in Dungeon, and My Happy Marriage, to name a few. Its portfolio also includes popular video game IPs, such as Elden Ring, Dragon Quest (FromSoftware), the Danganronpa series (Spike Chunsoft), and Mario & Luigi Brotherhood (Acquire) among others, as its developers are under the Kadokawa group.
Sony has also previously shared that it is interested in tackling the multimedia market, hoping to produce more live-action film and TV show adaptations, while co-producing anime adaptations and handling its overseas exportation.
Source:
KADOKAWA社長｢出版作品9000点に｣ ソニーと海外展開
Backed by Sony investment, Kadokawa is raising its target for original IP creation to 9,000 titles per year
