The acquisition comes after the increasing popularity of analog games of all kinds in Japan. According to a report from , the tabletop may only be a fraction of what Kadokawa has to offer the Tokyo-based Yano Research InstituteIn 2018, the Japanese domestic market for table and card games doubled from 54 billion yen (approximately US$382 million) in 2018 to 115 billion yen (US$814 million) in 2022, with this figure expected to increase in subsequent years will only increase. Tabletop games from Kadokawa’s intellectual property like Dark souls, Elden Ring, And Bloodborne each crowdfunded at least $3 million. These campaigns, run by Steamforged Games and CMON respectively, highlight the purchasing power of the international tabletop ecosystem – especially when combined with popular IPs. This rapid growth also inspired Kadokawa’s recent acquisition of Arclight, one of the largest players in the Japanese tabletop industry.
Arclight was founded in 1998 to organize the Japan Game Convention and has been publishing tabletop games since 1999. After opening its first retail store in 2003, the company began importing international games and localizing them for a Japanese market. In 2010, Arclight took over the management of the triennial Game Market, another major analog gaming conference that had previously been run by an all-volunteer team.
In April 2024, Arclight announced its acquisition by Kadokawa, a company where its founder’s son had resigned as chairman two years earlier following a bribery lawsuit related to the Tokyo Olympics. In Kadokawa’s announcementKosuke Fukumoto, president and CEO of Arclight, said that for the analog gaming industry to continue its growth trajectory, “it is necessary to expand overseas and connect with intellectual property,” and that Kadokawa has the capabilities to enable this growth . In the same announcement, Kadokawa’s chief publisher noted Kadokawa’s long history of publishing analog games and cited the release of Sword World in 1989 and the Japanese tradition of light novels emerging from early RPG iterations. Kadokawa believed the takeover would have been successful a minor impact on Arclightand that its “business operations will remain unchanged following this share transfer.”
Two months later was Kadokawa hit by a ransomware cyberattack As a result, the data of a quarter of a million people was leaked. The Russian-affiliated hacker collective BlackSuit took responsibility for the attack. With only seven months between the initial purchase and the possible sale and the attack stalled, it’s unclear how stable these operations can remain if Sony actually goes through with this acquisition. From one perspective, the influx of capital and resources could be a boon for the emerging industry as it builds connections outside of the US-dominated tabletop industry by focusing on developing popular IPs. From another, more cautious perspective, Arclight’s secondary acquisition by a major media conglomerate could be at odds with the company’s stated goals. “Instead of simply pursuing product sales and profits,” is a translated version of Arclight’s website says so“Our goal is to increase our business performance by expanding human communication, thereby contributing to the profits of not only our company but also society.”
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