Tencent has obtained Leyou Technologies which was a $1.5 billion deal. That means this Chinese company now owns most of the games you know about. This deal was previously hinted at in early 2020. It was then reported that Sony was also interested in the deal, but finally, on December 11, it was signed-off by Leyou shareholders.
Do you know that Leyou was a chicken processing company in the past? From 2014 the company started its journey into videogames by gaining a majority stake in Digital Extremes, the Canadian developer. The company created Athlon games, which now works with Amazon as a publisher partner on the Lord of the Rings MMO.
Richard Jolly, the Splash Damage co-founder and CEO said, “We’ve always been dedicated to creating team-based games that spark friendships and build passionate communities, and we strive to work with partners who believe in that mission. In our many discussions with Tencent, it became clear that they not only believe in that mission but will do everything they can to enable and empower us to realise it. This is going to be a bold new phase for our studio, with an amazing line-up of ambitious games that deliver on what Splash Damage is all about. We couldn’t be more excited.”
Digital Extremes was always dedicated to their deal with Leyou confirmed the creative independence of the studio. The studio’s blogpost asks whether Warframe will continue to be developed in this way:
“Yes, we will continue to create great content for Warframe, and we will remain creatively independent. Our focus will remain on listening to you, our community, upgrading Warframe based on your feedback, and developing the kind of great stories, gameplay, and incredible new space ninja action you’ve come to expect from us. Tencent is well known for respecting the creative decisions and integrity of its studios, and for giving them the autonomy and independence to experiment, innovate and thrive.”
Many companies like Epic has responded in the past that Tencent is always an overbearing partner. Now the company’s holdings are too wide and deep that it can attract the US Government. With the massive growth, it seems unstoppable now.
