Highlights
- Kadokawa Group, parent company of FromSoftware, confirms major cyberattack.
- Niconico and other services were impacted; FromSoftware was not directly affected.
- The company investigates potential data leaks and works on solutions to stabilize systems.
FromSoftware parent company Kadokawa Group confirmed that the Japanese media conglomerate faced a major cyberattack. The FromSoftware owner also released an official report, informing fans and investors about the extent of the cyberattack and the steps the company will follow to remedy the situation.
Kadokawa Group is one of the largest entertainment conglomerates in Japan, with ventures in publishing, film, anime, and gaming. Elden Ring developer FromSoftware, RPG Maker series developer Gotcha Gotcha Games, and Octopath Traveler developer Acquire are among the gaming companies that fall under the Kadokawa Group umbrella. Kadokawa Group also owns the Dwango media company and its subsidiaries, including Spike Chunsoft and the renowned Japanese streaming service Niconico. Niconico is among the services directly impacted by this month's cyberattack.
As reported by IGN, Kadokawa Group acknowledged a "significant cyberattack" in an official report released on Thursday, June 27. According to the report, the Kadokawa Group's data center was initially affected by ransomware on Saturday, June 8, which targeted Niconico and other related services. Currently, Kadokawa Group is "considering solutions and workarounds quickly on a company-wide basis" to stabilize its systems and business activities. What's more, the company is investigating possible information leakage resulting from the cyberattack. Kadokawa did not comment on whether FromSoftware and the studio's games were affected by the cyberattack.
FromSoftware Parent Company Kadokawa Group Faces Cyberattack
- Ransomware initially detected on June 8
- Affects Niconico and other Kadokawa services, including e-book distribution and web services
- FromSoftware is not named as an affected company in the report.
Kadokawa's publication businesses, web services, and merchandise businesses were directly impacted by the ransomware attack, with system failures being reported across the board. For example, Niconico family services and the distribution of e-books, such as the Elden Ring manga, on Kadokawa-based services are still suspended. Fortunately, the attack's impact on Kadokawa's merchandise businesses appears to be limited, so shop services will continue. Kadokawa will create temporary pages on its working online shops for users who are unable to log in or access them through their accounts.
"External professional organizations" are helping Kadokawa investigate potential data leaks stemming from the attack. Kadokawa disd that it does not retain any credit card information from its customers, so no credit card data was leaked. Results from the investigation will be made available in a subsequent report this July.
Kadokawa is unsure about the cyberattack's impact on overall performance for the current fiscal year. At the very least, FromSoftware's Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree expansion is a highly successful release for Kadokawa Group, and the base game has already surpassed 25 million copies sold worldwide.
Date Founded November 1, 1986 Headquarters Tokyo, Japan CEO Hidetaka Miyazaki Parent Company Kadokawa Known For dark souls , Armored Core
