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After a massive year of acquisitions and investments in 2020, Chinese internet company Tencent has purchased another top gaming studio.
It was confirmed on Friday that Tencent had acquired Klei, the developers of Shank and Don’t Starve. Klei confirmed the buyout in a post on his forums.
“I want to take a moment to announce that we have agreed to enter into a deal for Tencent to purchase a controlling stake in Klei Entertainment,” the studio said. “As part of this agreement, Klei retains full creative and operational autonomy in all aspects of the studio, including projects, talent, etc.”
As for what will change, founder Jamie Cheng said he will continue to run the studio and there will be no changes in staff, projects and operations, although there are ” annoying accounting changes ”.
Cheng said he agreed to the buyout so he and his team didn’t have to worry about finding new projects and editors to keep the lights on.
“My wish has been to allow people to do their best creative work, to learn and grow, to not have to worry about their finances and to be able to enjoy their life outside of the studio. changed, ”he said. “This partnership helps us navigate a changing industry and helps us focus on what we do best: creating unique experiences that no one else can.
Klei and Tencent were already working together, as Tencent partnered with the studio to launch Don’t Starve Together in China on Tencent’s WeGame platform. Klei and Tencent are also working together on Don’t Starve: Newhome for mobile.
Cheng said Klei was happy to sign with Tencent because the company will allow the studio to “maintain the level of control we demand.”
“We have worked with Tencent for years and even at times when we disagreed, they were always ready to work with us to find the best solution for everyone involved and to defer to us when we did. we felt strongly, ”Cheng said.
A report by Niko Partners showed that Tencent made 31 deals in 2020 related to investments in the games industry, three times as many deals as in 2019. Its biggest deal was the buyout of 1.5 billion dollars. dollars from Leyou, the parent company of Warframe developer Digital Extremes.
Other steps Tencent took in 2020 included investing in Japanese studio Platinum Games, but not buying it directly. Tencent also acquired developer Conan Funcom and purchased GTFO 10 Chambers studio.
Tencent now owns or has invested in a large number of game companies. He owns Riot (League of Legends), Grinding Gear Games (Path of Exile) and Supercell (Clash of Clans), while Tencent also owns part of the Fortnite Epic Games studio. Tencent also has minority investments in Ubisoft, Activision Blizzard and Bluehole.
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