On August 28, Sony Music Entertainment (SME) announced that it had signed a capital and business alliance agreement with game developer GungHo Online Entertainment. SME will acquire more than 23% of GungHo's shares for approximately 28.6 billion yen (about $179 million) on December 30, becoming its largest shareholder. The acquired shares were previously held by the former largest shareholder, SON Financial LLC.
SME is no stranger to the gaming industry, owning the well-known entertainment company Aniplex, which has published titles such as "Mahoutsukai no Yoru" and "Fate/Grand Order." SME and GungHo have previously engaged in business collaborations, including licensing game audio and video content rights and joint game development projects.
This new agreement aims to expand the partnership between the two companies. In addition to jointly developing and operating GungHo's mobile, console, and PC games, both parties will promote collaborative projects within GungHo Games and consider launching new game initiatives using IPs from the SME Group. Specific projects have not yet been announced, and cooperation details will be finalized in subsequent discussions.
Following the acquisition, SME will hold significant influence over GungHo. However, both parties have confirmed in their agreement that as long as GungHo remains a publicly listed company, SME will respect its operational autonomy as an independent listed entity.