Kadokawa faces a leadership battle in Alden Ring "Profit Leak".

Over the past few weeks, FromSoftware parent company Kadokawa Group has been embroiled in somewhat of a leadership battle. Oasis Management, currently Kadokawa's largest shareholder with a 13.76 percent stake, is trying to oust its current CEO, Takeshi Natsuno, who has been in his role since 2021.

Oasis management has been claiming that Natsuno needs to be replaced due to Kadokawa's declining profits, and FromSoftware has been used as the main argument that it's time for a leadership change.

You could argue that this makes absolutely zero sense, and I wouldn't blame you. The Elden Ring, along with its DLC, has been massively successful, and spawned a similarly successful spinoff game and movie adaptation. When it comes to successful matches, Alden Ring is at the top, but Oasis management is still using it to criticize Natsuno for what they claim is a “content profit leak”.

Either way, Alden Ring didn't make enough money for Kadokawa's shareholders

Yes, even with all the money in the world, Oasis management is concerned that Alden Ring isn't making more money than that. As reported by Reuters, its biggest problem with Alden Ring is how the game was distributed, as FromSoftware decided to stick with Bandai Namco as the publisher instead of self-publishing, potentially losing revenue that went to Bandai instead.

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It's a semi-understandable argument, but a complete misunderstanding of how FromSoftware has always operated. Every game the studio has made in the past two decades has a publisher, whether it's Sony, Activision, Bandai or, more recently, Nintendo. Sure, it almost certainly has the potential, but probably chooses to work with foreign publishers to minimize the hassle.

It's worth noting that the last time it all started, Natsuno's shareholder support sat at 90 percent, so he clearly has a decent amount of support, although now Oasis Management has cast doubt on his future, which could possibly be less than 50 percent, which would then fuel bringing in a new CEO. It's all very corporate and messy, and poor Elden is at the center of the ring.