Tencent have bought another game developer, so let’s see how big their collection is now

Yesterday, Tencent introduced they’re set to purchase UK recreation developer Sumo Digital, the oldsters behind video games like Crackdown 3, Group Sonic Racing and Sackboy: A Huge Journey. The deal is reportedly price £919 million ($1.27 billion), and means Tencent will totally personal the corporate.

This is not the primary huge acquisition the Chinese language tech conglomerate have made, and I am certain it will not be the final. However now’s nearly as good a time as ever to remind ourselves of precisely what number of gaming pies Tencent have their thumbs plunged into.

Sumo Digital

Kicking issues off with the Sumo information, GamesIndustry.biz reports that Tencent are set to totally purchase Sumo Digital immediately, after beforehand having an 8.75% stake within the firm. The developer will proceed to work on their very own video games, in addition to proceed their “work-for-hire” tasks underneath the brand new possession. It is also price noting Sumo is the guardian firm of The Chinese language Room, the devs behind Amnesia: The Darkish Descent, Expensive Esther, and All people’s Gone To The Rapture.

“The three founders of Sumo who work within the enterprise, Paul Porter, Darren Mills and I, are captivated with what we do and are totally dedicated to persevering with in our roles,” CEO Carl Cavers stated in a press release.

“The chance to work with Tencent is one we simply could not miss. It might deliver one other dimension to Sumo, presenting alternatives for us to really stamp our mark on this superb business, in methods which have beforehand been out-of-reach.”

Bohemia Interactive

One of many different more moderen stake purchases for Tencent was with Arma builders Bohemia. In February this year, they purchased a minority stake within the firm, however did not disclose precisely how huge that stake is, or what kind of cash it went for.

Dontnod Leisure

Simply a few weeks previous to Bohemia, Tencent bought a minority stake in Dontnod, the devs who make the Life Is Unusual sequence. The businesses signed a enterprise cooperation settlement, and Dontnod stated Tencent had invested a complete of €30 million (about £26.5 million).

Treatment Leisure

In Might this yr, Tencent grabbed a 3.8% stake in Treatment, the oldsters behind Management and Alan Wake. Reportedly, Treatment came upon concerning the sale after one other shareholder, Ascendo Capital, had already sold the portion to Tencent.

Klei Leisure

Persevering with the brand new yr spate of investments, again in January Tencent additionally grabbed a majority stake in Do not Starve builders Klei. The devs said Tencent had already assisted them in launching their video games in China, and reassured followers that they’d preserve “full autonomy of inventive and operations throughout all features of the studio”.

Digital Extremes and Splash Harm

Late final yr, Tencent bought Leyou, an organization that owns each Warframe builders Digital Extremes, and Soiled Bomb devs Splash Harm. Each studios put out the standard “don’t fret, nothing will change” statements, and, in the intervening time, nothing actually has modified.

OtherSide Leisure

It is a little bit of an odd one, as a result of no stakes or sums of cash had been mentioned in public. However originally of 2020, OtherSide announced that Tencent could be “taking the System Shock franchise ahead”, no matter meaning.

Riot Video games

An oldie however biggie: Tencent have had a majority stake in Riot Video games, the devs behind League Of Legends and Valorant, since 2011. However in 2015 they took full ownership of the corporate.

Funcom

Tencent was once the most important shareholders in Conan Exiles builders Funcom, however in 2020 they bought out all the other shareholders. Like Riot, Tencent utterly personal Funcom.

Epic Video games

Tencent have had a 40% stake in Epic Video games, the oldsters who made Fortnite and a digital storefront that everybody likes to hate, since 2012.

Final yr, Tencent’s investments in Epic and Riot really caught the attention of the US government. They needed to understand how the Chinese language megacorp had been dealing with the safety of Individuals’ private knowledge.

Grinding Gear Video games

In 2018, the conglomerate grabbed a majority stake in Path Of Exile dev Grinding Gear. They personal 80% of the developer, and purchased that for an “undisclosed sum” of cash. Regardless of preliminary participant worries that the devs would begin to extra aggressively monetise the sport, that did not occur, and to today the sport remains to be enterprise as typical.

Platinum Video games

Early final yr, Bayonetta builders Platinum Video games introduced they’d received a “partnership investment” from Tencent, although the precise quantity they obtained wasn’t disclosed.

Activision Blizzard

Means again in 2016, Tencent snapped up a 5% stake in Activision Blizzard after the World Of Warcraft and Overwatch creators needed to go unbiased, and escape ownership of the French media conglomerate Vivendi. ActiBliz had already labored with Tencent previous to this to deliver their video games to China.

Ubisoft

In 2018, Tencent purchased a 5% stake in Ubisoft, serving to the Murderer’s Creed and Rainbow Six builders fight off their own takeover by Vivendi. It is not a sufficiently big stake for Tencent to be allowed onto the corporate’s board of administrators, however they’ve helped Ubisoft publish video games in China.

Bluehole (often known as Krafton)

Tencent purchased an undisclosed stake in PUBG builders Bluehole in 2017 (although it is rumoured to be round 10%). Later that very same yr, it was reported that Tencent had been trying to utterly purchase out the corporate, although no information on it has come about since.

Paradox Interactive

Crusader Kings and Europa Universalis makers Paradox offered 5% of their shares to Tencent in 2016. As with most builders on this checklist, they needed Tencent’s assist in establishing their video games within the Chinese language market.

Discord

Not a technically a video games firm, however games-adjacent: Tencent invested an undisclosed sum of money within the chat app Discord in 2018. Between Tencent and a lot of different buyers, Discord secured $150 million in funding that yr.

Frontier Developments

Again to the video games: the tech megacorp additionally personal a 9% stake in Elite Harmful and Planet Zoo makers Frontier. The deal was reportedly worth £17.7 million (about $24m).

Marvelous

Final yr, Tencent bought a 20% stake in Story Of Season builders Marvelous for $65 million (round $47.8m). (You may also recognise Marvelous as anime producers.)

Fatshark

In 2019, Tencent purchased a stake in Swedish Warhammer: Vermintide builders Fatshark. Reports say it is round a 36% stake, price about 500 million kronor (round £42m or $57m).

Sharkmob

Sticking with the sharks, Tencent owns 100% of the indie developer Sharkmob, who’re at present engaged on a battle royale set in the Vampire: The Masquerade universe.

Roblox Company

Tencent and Roblox fashioned a “strategic partnership” in 2019. Roblox Corp owns a 51% stake permitting them to maintain management, whereas a Tencent subsidiary Songhua owns 49%.

10 Chambers Collective

In 2020, GTFO devs 10 Chambers announced Tencent had acquired a majority stake within the firm.

Yager Improvement

Tencent owns yet another undisclosed majority stake in Spec Ops: The Line builders Yager.

Supercell

They also own a majority stake in cell builders Supercell, who make Conflict Of Clans.

So there it’s: in the event you play video games, it is doubtless Tencent owns no less than a small a part of the developer or writer that made one thing you want. It is such an enormous variety of corporations to undergo, it is fully attainable I’ve missed one or two as nicely.

On the finish of all of it, this is your frequent reminder that games industry consolidation is something we shouldn’t ignore. It took me a very long time to place this checklist collectively, and that is fairly regarding.