Tencent acquires Warframe developer Digital Extremes and ...

Tencent acquires Warframe developer Digital Extremes and several other studios ... Fingers in a hell of a lot of pies. ... Warframe key art. Skiptomaincontent PCGamer PCGamerTHEGLOBALAUTHORITYONPCGAMES Search Subscribe (opensinnewtab) (opensinnewtab) (opensinnewtab) (opensinnewtab) (opensinnewtab) (opensinnewtab) UKUSCanadaAustralia PCGamerMagazineSubscription(opensinnewtab)(opensinnewtab)Whysubscribe?Subscribetotheworld's#1PCgamingmagTryasingleissueorsaveonasubscriptionIssuesdeliveredstraighttoyourdoorordeviceFrom$10.99(opensinnewtab)View(opensinnewtab) News Reviews Hardware BestOf Magazine TheTop100 Forum More PCGamingShow Podcasts NewsletterSignup CommunityGuidelines AffiliateLinks Meettheteam AboutPCGamer PopularNot-E3awardsPCGamingShowSteamdemosDarktideStarfieldNivalis PCGamerissupportedbyitsaudience.Whenyoupurchasethroughlinksonoursite,wemayearnanaffiliatecommission.Here’swhyyoucantrustus (Imagecredit:DigitalExtremes) Audioplayerloading… TencenthasacquiredLeyouTechnologiesina$1.5billiondeal,meaningtheenormousChinesecorporationnowownsevenmoreofthegamesyouknow.Thedealhadbeenhintedatearlierthisyear,withSonyalsoreportedtobeinterested,butwassigned-offbyLeyoushareholdersonDecember11andfinalisedtoday.Leyouwasachickenprocessingcompanyuntil,in2014,itbegantodiversifyintovideogamesbyacquiringamajoritystakeinCanadiandeveloperDigitalExtremes,developerofWarframe.SubsequentlyLeyouwentall-inonthisstrategy,sellingoffthechickenbusinessin2016andacquiringBritishdeveloperSplashDamage,whichmostrecenthasbeenworkingonGearsmultiplayerandGearsTactics,anda20percentstakeindeveloperCertainAffinity,whichinrecenttimeshasworkedonCallofDuty:ModernWarfareRemastered,andHaloInfinite.Finally,LeyouestablishedAthlongames,whichiscurrentlyworkingwithAmazonontheLordoftheRingsMMOaspublishingpartner.Leyou'smaybenotahouseholdname,butthat'ssomeideaofthescaleofthisacquisition.ThefulllistofTencent'sholdings(opensinnewtab)ingamesgrowsevermorecomprehensive:aswellasoutrightownershipofdeveloperslikeRiotGamesandFuncom,itownsjustunder50percentofEpicGames,plusstakesinActivisionBlizzard,Ubisoft,ParadoxInteractive,andmanymore.“We’vealwaysbeendedicatedtocreatingteam-basedgamesthatsparkfriendshipsandbuildpassionatecommunities,andwestrivetoworkwithpartnerswhobelieveinthatmission,"saystheSplashDamageco-founderandCEO,theappropriately-namedRichardJolly,"InourmanydiscussionswithTencent,itbecameclearthattheynotonlybelieveinthatmissionbutwilldoeverythingtheycantoenableandempowerustorealiseit.Thisisgoingtobeaboldnewphaseforourstudio,withanamazingline-upofambitiousgamesthatdeliveronwhatSplashDamageisallabout.Wecouldn’tbemoreexcited."DigitalExtremeshasalwaysmaintainedthatitsdealwithLeyouensuredthestudio'screativeindependence,whichtobefairdoesseemtohavebeenthecasewithWarframe.Thestudio'sblogpostaddressesthequestionofwhetherWarframewillcontinuetobedevelopedinthismanner:"Yes,wewillcontinuetocreategreatcontentforWarframeandwewillremaincreativelyindependent.Ourfocuswillremainonlisteningtoyou,ourcommunity,upgradingWarframebasedonyourfeedback,anddevelopingthekindofgreatstories,gameplay,andincrediblenewspaceninjaactionyou’vecometoexpectfromus.Tencentiswellknownforrespectingthecreativedecisionsandintegrityofitsstudios,andforgivingthemtheautonomyandindependencetoexperiment,innovateandthrive."CompanieslikeEpichaveinthepastrespondedrobustlytoanysuggestionthatTencentisanoverbearingorcensoriouspartner,thoughtheChineseconglomerate'sholdingsarenowsowideanddeepthatit'sattractingattentionfromtheU.S.government.ThereremainssuspicionamongwesternaudiencesaboutTencent'senormousholdingsingaming:afterall,inrecentweekswe'veseenthatWesterndigitalstorefrontsaretooscaredtosellaTaiwanesehorrorgameforfearofoffendingChina.Butitscontinuedgrowthandreachseemunstoppable. RichStanton Richisagamesjournalistwith15years'experience,beginninghiscareeronEdgemagazinebeforeworkingforawiderangeofoutlets,includingArsTechnica,Eurogamer,GamesRadar+,Gamespot,theGuardian,IGN,theNewStatesman,Polygon,andVice.HewastheeditorofKotakuUK,theUKarmofKotaku,forthreeyearsbeforejoiningPCGamer.HeistheauthorofaBriefHistoryofVideoGames,afullhistoryofthemedium,whichtheMidwestBookReviewdescribedas"[a]must-readforseriousmindedgamehistoriansandcuriousvideogameconnoisseursalike." Seecomments PCGamerNewsletter Signuptogetthebestcontentoftheweek,andgreatgamingdeals,aspickedbytheeditors. ContactmewithnewsandoffersfromotherFuturebrands Receiveemailfromusonbehalfofourtrustedpartnersorsponsors ThankyouforsigninguptoPCGamer.Youwillreceiveaverificationemailshortly. Therewasaproblem.Pleaserefreshthepageandtryagain. 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