Elden Ring and the release of Shadow of the Erdtree were huge financial successes, which came at just the right time for the parent company FromSoftware.
Who is the parent company of FromSoftware? The Japanese studio is 69.66% owned by Kadowaka, a media company that operates in various fields. In addition to games, they also publish films, such as Your Name, which is acclaimed by many anime fans, and print media.
In June 2024, the company fell victim to a cyberattack. A business report shows that Kadowaka suffered heavy losses (via automaton-media.com). Fortunately, the Elden Ring DLC was released shortly afterwards.
Elden Ring shows the DLC “Shadow of the Erdtree” in the story trailer
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The video games saved the day
What were the losses? The attack resulted in data loss and disruption to the company’s various services. Compensation also had to be paid out. In total, Kadowaka says the losses amounted to around 2 billion yen. That’s about 12.2 million euros.
For the company, this meant a drop in net profit of 10.1%. Despite these losses, however, a large increase in profits was recorded. The reason? Video games, which, among other things, ensured that FromSoftware’s parent company was able to record a total of 84.6% more profit than in the previous year.
Among the releases are Elden Ring and especially the DLC Shadow of the Erdtree, which was also released in June. The expansion was well received by the press and fans, but was not without criticism. Overall, it seems to have brought Kadowaka a lot of money. This is also highlighted in the report. Sales in Japan in particular, both of the main game and the expansion, are key factors for the enormous growth. Specific sales figures are not given.
Overall, Kadowaka’s video game sector is growing strongly and has so far increased by a full 80% compared to last year. With blockbusters like Elden Ring, this is not surprising.
In this case, the Japanese company was lucky in its misfortune. The timing of the release of Shadow of the Erdtree came at just the right time and saved the parent company from a significant loss. The game is full of small details that many of you may not have noticed while playing. A YouTuber has now shown why one of the DLC bosses is a masterpiece in itself.