Elden Ring Profit Controversy Intensifies: Activist Shareholders Fail to Unseat Kadokawa CEO Takeshi Natsuno

At the annual general meeting held on June 24, Kadokawa Corporation CEO Takeshi Natsuno secured re-election with 59.68% shareholder support, fending off a challenge from activist investors who argued the company failed to capitalize on the explosive success of Elden Ring.

Activist investment firm Oasis Management, which has become Kadokawa’s largest shareholder with an 11.89% stake (surpassing Sony’s 10.04%), pushed for Natsuno’s removal. The firm contends that Kadokawa failed to fully seize the commercial opportunities presented by Elden Ring’s global phenomenon, resulting in what it calls “significant profit leakage.”

Shareholder advisory firm Institutional Shareholder Services echoed this sentiment in its proxy voting recommendations, stating that even if finding a successor would take time, the challenge was “worth undertaking.”

FromSoftware, the studio behind Elden Ring, was acquired by Kadokawa in 2014 for an undisclosed sum. The game’s 2022 launch proved transformative — it drove a 123% surge in Kadokawa’s gaming segment revenue. As of April 2025, Elden Ring has sold over 30 million copies worldwide, while its Shadow of the Erdtree expansion has also surpassed 10 million units sold.

Following the shareholder vote, Kadokawa stated it would review its management structure, executive compensation, and the performance of its mid-term business plans. The ongoing pressure from activist shareholders reflects a broader reckoning with the company’s corporate governance, intensified by the shifting power dynamics in its ownership structure since Oasis Management took the top shareholder position in March 2026.