History Main / FranchiseOwnershipAcquisition

** Disney bought Creator/{{Lucasfilm}} in 2012, and thus now owns both the ''Franchise/StarWars'' and ''Franchise/IndianaJones'' franchises, as well as ''Film/{{Willow}}''.

** Microsoft after the purchase of Zenimax also bought Creator/ActivisionBlizzard in 2022 (and completed the transaction in October 2023 after clearing regulatory approval in the United States and various other countries), thus gaining Microsoft ownership of various franchises such as ''VideoGame/CallOfDuty'', ''VideoGame/CrashBandicoot'', ''VideoGame/{{Skylanders}}'', ''VideoGame/{{Diablo}}'', ''VideoGame/{{Overwatch}}'', and ''VideoGame/{{Warcraft}}''.

* In 2008, Creator/NBCUniversal bought Geneon Entertainment (after which it was renamed as Geneon Universal Entertainment and then Creator/NBCUniversalEntertainmentJapan) from Dentsu, which acquired Geneon (then known as Pioneer LDC) five years earlier. Thus, [=NBCUniversal=] now holds several [=IPs=] previously owned by or partially owned by Pioneer and Geneon including the pre-1999 ''Anime/TenchiMuyo'' titles, ''Anime/{{Moldiver}}'', ''Anime/ArmitageIII'', ''Anime/ElHazardTheMagnificentWorld'', ''Anime/BlackLagoon'', ''Manga/{{Mahoromatic}}'' and so on.

* Creator/MiltonBradley was a company famous for its board games, such as ''TabletopGame/CandyLand'', ''TabletopGame/{{Yahtzee}}'', and ''TabletopGame/{{Battleship}}''. It became a subsidiary of Creator/{{Hasbro}} in 1984, meaning that most of its franchises still belong to this company.

* Creator/MiltonBradley was a company famous for its board games, such as ''TabletopGame/CandyLand'', ' ''TabletopGame/{{Yahtzee}}'', and ''TabletopGame/{{Battleship}}''. It became a subsidiary of Creator/{{Hasbro}} in 1984, meaning that most of its franchises still belong to this company.

* Creator/{{Atlus}}, the creator of numerous games and game franchises such as ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTensei'', ''VideoGame/DeptHeaven'', ''VideoGame/EtrianOdyssey'', and ''VideoGame/PowerInstinct'' to name a few of these, had cooperated with Index Corporation throughout its history and was formally acquired by them in 2006. In June 2013, Index was found guilty of financial fraud and went into bankruptcy. Sega Sammy bought Atlus from its embattled parent company in September of that same year. Some of these Atlus properties have been incorporated to some degree in some of Sega's franchises, such as ''VideoGame/Persona5'' protagonist Joker's outfit being a DLC apparel for the Custom Hero/Avatar in ''VideoGame/SonicForces''.

For a related concept see ChannelHop where the franchise changes to a new television channel or other kind of distributor (e.g. movie studio, comic/magazine/book publisher), but the franchise itself otherwise can remain with the original group and/or creative team that owns it. See also CocaPepsiInc for cases of mergers between directly competing companies beyond those that produce narrative fiction.

For a related concept see ChannelHop where the franchise changes to a new television channel or other kind of distributor (e.g. movie studio, comic/magazine/book publisher), but the franchise itself otherwise can remain with the original group and/or creative team that owns it.

** ''Film/Terminator2JudgmentDay'': Carolco (theatrical distribution by Creator/TriStarPictures, television distribution by Worldvision)

** ''Film/TerminatorGenisys'': Skydance Productions (Creator/{{Paramount}} distribution)

** Disney bought Creator/{{Lucasfilm}} in 2012, and thus now owns both the ''Franchise/StarWars'' and ''Franchise/IndianaJones'' franchises.

* ''Literature/TheRailwaySeries'' has burned through many different owners, with its television adaptation ''WesternAnimation/ThomasAndFriends'' having a hand in its numerous owners over time. The first twenty-one books were published by Edmund Ward Publishers, which merged with Nicholas Kaye Limited in 1967 to form Kaye & Ward Limited. They were still the owners of the book series until 1997, when Britt Allcroft purchased the rights following the Rev. W. Awdry's death. The Britt Allcroft Company's properties then went to Gullane Entertainment in 2000 after ''WesternAnimation/ThomasAndTheMagicRailroad'' [[Main/{{Pun}} derailed]] [[Main/BoxOfficeBomb at the box office]]. Then in 2002, Creator/HITEntertainment purchased Gullane, along with the entire ''Thomas'' franchise (except ''Magic Railroad'', which is owned by Creator/{{Sony}}). Finally, in 2012, Creator/{{Mattel}} bought out HIT Entertainment.

** The overarching DC company, or National Comic Publications as it was officially then called, was acquired by Creator/WarnerBros as part of a merger in 1969.

* ''Literature/DigitalDevilStory'' are a series of novels that were written by Aya Nishitani in the 1980s. Creator/{{Atlus}} would adapt the novels into a video game, ''VideoGame/MegamiTensei'', in 1987. In 1992, Atlus would outright buy the rights to the franchise from the author after which the ''Franchise/ShinMegamiTensei'' series would become one of Atlus's {{Cash Cow Franchise}}s. For details about Atlus from 2013 onwards (And by extension Shin Megami Tensei), see the Video Game section.

For a related concept see ChannelHop where the franchise changes to a new television channel or other kind of distributor (e.g. movie studio, comic/magazine publisher), but the franchise itself otherwise remains with the group and/or creative team that owns it.

* Creator/{{Atlus}}, the creator of numerous games and game franchises such as ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTensei'', ''VideoGame/DeptHeaven'', ''VideoGame/EtrianOdyssey'', and ''VideoGame/PowerInstinct'' to name a few of these, had cooperated with Index Corporation throughout its history and was formally acquired by them in 2006. In June 2013, Index was found guilty of financial fraud and went into bankruptcy. Sega Sammy bought Atlus from its embattled parent company in September of that same year. Some of these Atlus properties have been incorporated to some degree in some of Sega's franchises, such as the outfit of ''VideoGame/Persona5'' protagonist Joker's outfit being a DLC apparel for the Custom Hero/Avatar in ''VideoGame/SonicForces''.

** Disney bought out 20th Century Fox (after which it was renamed as "Creator/TwentiethCenturyStudios") in 2019, and now holds its multitude of franchises such as ''Franchise/{{Alien}}'', ''Franchise/{{Predator}}'', ''Franchise/DieHard'', ''Franchise/PlanetOfTheApes'', ''Film/HomeAlone'', ''WesternAnimation/IceAge'', and ''Franchise/TheSimpsons''.

* ''Literature/DigitalDevilStory'' are a series of novels that were written by Aya Nishitani in the 1980s. Creator/{{Atlus}} would adapt the novels into a video game, ''VideoGame/MegamiTensei'', in 1987. In 1992, Atlus would outright buy the rights to the franchise from the author after which the ''Franchise/ShinMegamiTensei'' series would become one of Atlus's {{Cash Cow Franchise}}s.

* The ''VideoGame/{{Fallout}}'' franchise was originally owned by Creator/{{Interplay}} and Creator/BlackIsleStudios before Creator/{{Bethesda}} bought the rights to the intellectual property from the former in 2007.

** Zenimax's acquisition by Microsoft means that all of Zenimax's former properties (including those by Creator/BethesdaSoftworks -- ''VideoGame/{{Fallout}}'', ''VideoGame/TheElderScrolls'' -- and Creator/IdSoftware -- ''VideoGame/{{Doom}}'', ''VideoGame/{{Quake}}'', ''VideoGame/{{Wolfenstein}}'') are now Microsoft properties.

* ''[[Literature/AmericanGirlsCollection American Girl]]'' dolls were initially made by Germany-based Götz using existing molds from the company but has since been owned and manufactured by Creator/{{Mattel}} when series creator Pleasant Rowland sold the line to the toy giant in 1998.