Zombie game maker Techland joins global empire Tencent in its latest acquisition
Tencent, one of the world’s largest gaming companies, is set to gobble up Techland, the Polish game developer known for open-world zombie games like Dying Light, adding another member to its vast investment portfolio.
In a letter to players, Techland founder and CEO Paweł Marchewka announced that Tencent is in the process of becoming the game company’s majority shareholder. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.
“Working with Tencent will allow us to move forward at full speed with the execution of the vision for our game. We have selected allies who have partnered with some of the world’s best video game companies and helped them reach new heights while respecting their way of doing things,” he wrote.
In the space of two decades, Tencent has transformed itself into a gaming IP and publishing giant by investing in and buying studios around the world. Some of the major deals closed include the full acquisition of Riot Games, creators of League of Legends; his majority stake in Clash of Clans developer Supercell; became the largest single shareholder in Ubisoft, the creators behind Assassin’s Creed; and owns shares in Fortnite developer Epic Games and PUBG creator Krafton.
The pace of Chinese corporate investment has slowed significantly in recent times, recording just 11 deals in Q1 this year, down from 35 and 34 in the same period over the previous two years, according to public data compiled by Crunchbase.
Tencent is known for taking a hands-off approach with its gaming portfolio of companies, even wholly owned ones. It may be acknowledged that the creative team at this Western game company may have very different cultural norms from a Chinese internet giant like himself. By partnering with Tencent, these companies gain entry points into the world’s second largest gaming market, while Tencent benefits from the valuable IP generated by these studios.
Indeed, Paweł assured players that Techland “will retain full ownership of our IP, maintain creative freedom, and continue to operate in the way we believe is right.” He will continue to serve as the studio’s CEO.
