Following on from Vicarious Visions teaming up with Blizzard, Chinese video game giant Tencent – now famous for titles like League of Legends and Clash of Clans – will receive a “majority share” in Klei Entertainment.
If you are not familiar with this Canadian-based developer, this is the studio behind games like Don’t be hungry and Sign of the Ninja. Klei Entertainment founder Jaime ‘Bigfoot’ Cheng says Klei will maintain “a full creative and action experience across all sides of the studio, including projects, talent and more”.
In Frequently Asked Questions on the Klei website, Cheng explained that there would be no immediate changes in the future to “employees, projects or other jobs”. As for the reason behind this decision, it will allow the studio to “not worry about finances”, do the “best creative work” and lead a changing business.
“There are some sad accounting changes that we need to change. In addition, I will continue to run the studio as I was before, with no changes to staff, projects or other work.”
“Klei has been around for 15 years, and we have made many changes over the years to respond to a changing world. Consistently, my desire is to give people the opportunity to work. creative, learn and grow, without having to worry about finances, and being able to enjoy their lives outside the studio. This has not changed. “
“This partnership will help us lead a changing business, and help us focus on what we do best: making unique experiences that no one else can. “
According to a report from Niko Partners through GamesIndustry.biz, Tencent invested in 31 contracts related to the games industry last year – a new record for the company. These were “a combination of purchases, unions, large and small commitments, and funding rounds. “
Some of those deals included a small stake in PlatinumGames and interest in the Japanese publisher Marvelous. With 2021 just beginning, who knows what else Tencent would get in the coming months.