Authors of Warfram or Gears Tactics are bought by Tencent -apkrig
Already in mid-July, we informed you about the interest of the Chinese company Tencent in the Hong Kong Leyou Technologies. The information was then provided by Bloomberg with reference to sources close to both entities, and was subsequently confirmed by a press release in which Leyou encouraged its investors to cooperate with the parties to advantageous business opportunities. It has also been speculated that the acquisition will be completed in July, but in the end we had to wait until these days. However, this does not change the fact that together with Leya Technologies Tencent now owns the Splash Damage, Digital Extremes and Athlon Games studios.
The amount Tencent had to pay was known less than two weeks ago when it was published in a press release by Leyou Technologies itself. This is a payment of $ 1.5 billion, after the payment of which Tencent becomes the absolute owner and ranks Leyou with the mentioned studies of its structure. In the case of Digital Extremes, the multiplayer action Warframe is most often mentioned, but in the past, Canadian developers also signed under brands such as Unreal, BioShock and Star Trek, especially as assistants. Studio Splash Damage has recently shone with Gears Tactics strategy, but their history is also quite varied and includes titles such as Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory or Halo: The Master Chief Collection on PC. The trio of studios are being completed by the youngest Athlon Games, who formed as a label under Leya in 2018, helped play Samurai Shodown, bought some of the canceled Telltale Games, and are currently working with Amazon on an MMO from The World of The Lord of the Rings.
Tencent will acquire Leyou Technologies for $ 1.5 billion after the deal was approved by shareholders on Dec 11. Leyou will be taken private on Dec 23.
Leyou is the parent company of Digital Extremes (Warframe), Splash Damage and others, incl. A 20% stake in Certain Affinity. pic.twitter.com/t6xN8OCSr4
– Daniel Ahmad (@ZhugeEX) December 13, 2020
As for the reactions of individual studies, it is expected to be positive and all parties are optimistic about a common future. In a blog post yesterday, Splash Damage said the acquisition would allow them to operate as an independent studio under Tencent’s roof and develop even better games than ever before. “We have always gravitated to develop team games that foster friendships and build passionate communities around them. We are excited to work with partners who believe in our vision, ”said Richard Jolly, CEO of Splash Damage. He also confirmed that he had negotiated with the people of Tencent several times and believed that the Chinese side would do its utmost to ensure that the Splash Damage entered the new chapter of its existence as successfully as possible.
Developers at Digital Extremes chose improvised questions and answers to inform about the acquisition, introducing Tencent as a strong partner, especially when it comes to online games, and listing several other studies in which Tencent has a stake. Like their colleagues at Splash Damage, they reassure them that they remain an independent entity as much as possible in the structure and hierarchy of corporations. “Yes, we will continue to work on developing great content for Warframe and remain creatively independent. We will continue to listen to you and improve the Warframe based on feedback, ”says Digital Extremes in a statement. The advantage for Chinese Warfram players is that the people from Digital Extremes, in cooperation with Tencent, will try to get the Chinese version of the game to the level of the Western counterpart as quickly as possible.
