Summary
FromSoftwareparent company Kadokawa Group confirmed that the Japanese media conglomerate faced a major cyberattack. TheFromSoftwareowner 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 Ringdeveloper FromSoftware,RPG Makerseries developer Gotcha Gotcha Games, andOctopath Travelerdeveloper 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.
Asreported 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 whetherFromSoftware and the studio’s gameswere affected by the cyberattack.
FromSoftware Parent Company Kadokawa Group Faces Cyberattack
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 astheElden Ringmanga, 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 disclosed 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’sElden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtreeexpansion is a highly successful releasefor Kadokawa Group, and the base game has already surpassed 25 million copies sold worldwide.
From Software
Based in Japan, FromSoftware is a development company best known for the Souls series and Armored Core franchise. Other popular games from From Software include Elden Ring, Sekiro, Bloodborne, and the King’s Field series.
