Sony has joined forces with Tencent to develop a 30.34 percent share from FromSoftware, the developer behind titles like Elden Ring, Dark Souls 3 and Bloodborne. Tencent’s Sixjoy Hong Kong division will own 16.25 percent of the shares of FromSoftware, Sony will take a 14.09 percent stake and parent Kadokawa Group will remain the largest shareholder with a 69.66 percent stake. Tencent already has an investment in Kadokawa of last year.

FromSoftware may not be a developer on the tip of your tongue, but it has an impressive catalog. Elden Ring is the best-selling game of 2022 to date, selling 12 million copies in its first 18 days alone. Together with Bloodborne and the Dark Souls franchise, it also produced the PSVR mystery adventure Deracine and Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice.

The company plans to use the money raised (36.4 billion yen or $262 million) to strengthen its relationship with Sony, create new IP and expand its ability to publish globally. Elden Ring is the company’s biggest hit to date, but it’s published outside of Japan by Bandai Namco. Earlier this year, FromSoftware and Bandai Namco called Elden Ring the start of a “new franchise” and announced efforts to “expand the brand beyond the game itself and into everyone’s everyday lives.”

While Microsoft has made most of the headlines with its (pending) Activision Blizzard acquisition, Sony has also taken studios by storm. It recently completed a $3.6 billion deal to buy Halo and Destiny developer Bungie Games, along with god of war co-development studio Valkyrie and Jade Raymond’s Haven Studios. Given the success of Elden Ringhis stake in FromSoftware seems like a relative bargain.