Over the past few weeks, Sony has multiplied its investments in Kadokawa, parent company of FromSoftware, creator of the Dark Souls series and Elden Ring. A few days after that substantial check detached in favor of the Japanese giant, Hermen Hulst (SIE Worldwide Studio Head) has revealed the reasons behind this strategy, and with no small surprise we discover that video games are only a small part of the goal of this special investment.
Hulst was interviewed by Reuters, where he said what prompted Sony to invest in the authors of Elden Ring, Dark Souls and Demon's Souls. “It would be natural to think of a collaboration regarding the development of games, but we love to explore different opportunities with PlayStation Productions”, Hulst's words declared to Reuters colleagues. It goes without saying that the thought goes directly to the other more profitable branch of Sony, namely that of films.
Over the past few years, the Japanese giant has financed productions such as Uncharted, making their big-screen debut after a lifetime of fortune in the video game industry. Now Sony's intention is to push the accelerator of this sector further, with new films probably on the horizon. There is a lot of talk, for example, of a big screen adaptation of Days Gone, a third-person action that debuted in 2018 on PS4. The next few years will probably be crucial for understanding which productions will be launched, not only by Sony but also by third parties. One clue could be Amazon, which has already kicked off production on a Fallout TV series, as well as HBO, which is busy adapting The Last of Us for the small screen.
Will the future of video games really be so rosy even in the cinema? Hard to tell. The first attempts were definitely not a success, but the Halo example might pave the way for an idea of productions made much better than in the past. The future, in this case, is yet to be written.
