Strategic Partnership Sees Sony Acquire 2.5% Of Publisher Bandai Namco

Sony Interactive Entertainment and Bandai Namco have announced a strategic partnership that has seen the PlayStation manufacturer acquire 2.5% of the Tekken 8 publisher.

This equates to Sony acquiring 16 billion shares in Bandai Namco, which also publishes major IPs such as Elden Ring and Ace Combat. The console maker previously acquired shares in numerous companies including Kadokawa, FromSoftware, Devolver Digital, and Epic Games.

Through this business alliance and Sony‘s investment in Bandai Namco, as two of the leading Japanese entertainment companies, Bandai Namco and Sony will focus on expanding the fan community for IP such as anime and manga around the world and strengthening engagement, particularly in the anime field where rapid market growth is anticipated, while merging their strengths to create new and emotionally moving experiences for fans, and as a result of these efforts maximize the value of IP.

Toshimoto Mitomo, Chief Strategy Officer for Sony, commented:

Through the partnership, we aim to co-create an array of content an experiences that exceed expectations and deliver Kando (emotion) to even more fans, alongside Bandai Namco Group, with its outstanding capacity for multidirectional expansion of diverse IP and deep connections with fans at real touchpoints both domestically and internationally.
By combining the strengths of both companies in the field of entertainment and unlocking the potential of compelling IP, we will further accelerate our efforts to maximize IP value and realize Sony’s long-term vision.

Bandai Namco recenlty published Elden Ring: Nightreign, a spinoff multiplayer entry in the fantasy-RPG franchise that launched back in May 2025. In addition, last year’s Tekken 8 is still receiving strong post-launch support, although lately the game has been seeing many balance adjustments as a result of the backlash to Season 2.

Meanwhile, the Ace Combat series celebrated its 30th anniversary last month as the original game – known in the US and Europe as Air Combat – having launched for the PlayStation in Japan on June 30, 1995.

[Source – VGC]