The '$0.99 Mario Jump' Investors Now Want Control of FromSof

Back in 2014, an activist investor called Oasis Management pitched Nintendo on charging players $0.99 to make Mario jump higher. Nintendo ignored them. Now Oasis owns 13.76% of Kadokawa Corporation, more than Sony, and it's trying to oust Kadokawa's CEO so it can get its hands on something far more valuable: FromSoftware.

Oasis published a presentation to investors arguing that Kadokawa has badly mismanaged FromSoftware by letting Bandai Namco publish Elden Ring overseas. Since over 90% of Elden Ring's sales came from international markets, Oasis claims Kadokawa "benefitted little" from the game's massive success. The fund wants FromSoftware to self-publish future titles, cut out external partners, and establish "clear and measurable KPIs" for the studio's output. A shareholder vote on whether to remove CEO Takeshi Natsuno is scheduled for June 24 at Kadokawa's annual general meeting.

There's a kernel of business logic buried in Oasis's argument. Self-publishing does capture more revenue, and FromSoftware's next game, The Duskbloods, is already fully owned by the studio including publishing rights. Kadokawa's own 2025 earnings report mentioned optimizing FromSoftware's publishing structure. But Oasis isn't asking for a gradual, studio-led transition. It's pushing for a management overhaul and a CEO who prioritizes "global IP monetization" and "operational discipline." Those are the words of a fund that sees FromSoftware as an underperforming asset, not a creative studio that just shipped one of the best-selling games of the decade.

FromSoftware president Hidetaka Miyazaki responded to the situation in comments to Denfaminico Gamer, keeping his distance from the corporate fight but making his priorities clear. "We are able to freely create the games we want to make without excessive interference," he said, adding that maintaining that environment was "of utmost importance." He also confirmed unannounced games are in development beyond The Duskbloods. I don't think Miyazaki could have drawn a sharper line without naming Oasis directly. The entire history of FromSoftware's best work, from Bloodborne to Sekiro to Elden Ring, exists because the studio was left alone to take creative risks. Handing strategic influence to a fund whose most famous gaming idea was microtransaction platforming is exactly the kind of interference Miyazaki is warning against. The vote on June 24 will determine whether that warning gets heard.