Klei Entertainment, developer of indie hits Don’t Starve and Oxygen Not Included announced today that they have agreed for Tencent, a media conglomerate that has been making a lot of purchases, to make the majority of the company to buy. Klei’s founders say they will maintain a “full creative experience and activity across all sides of the studio”.
Klei made the news today in a post where they will explain why they chose Tencent and what they believe the partnership will help them achieve.
“We have looked at many different companies, and over the years, we have worked with a large number of publishers and distributors. Tencent is the only company we felt would allow us to maintain the level of control we want.
“We have been working with Tencent for years and even at points where we disagreed, they were always willing to work with us to find the best solution for everyone who engaged and delayed us when we felt strongly. ”
Klei also mentions that Chinese company Tencent helped them with Don’t Starve Together in China in 2016 and has helped with other Chinese shows since then, noting that players are in China making up a large proportion of their players. “We do not expect major operational changes for China or anywhere else in the world, but we do expect this partnership to help us better support our players in China,” they say.
It’s similar – about maintaining creative control – to the one at Splash Damage and Digital Extremes when Tencent acquired their parent company Leyou in late December.
Over the years Tencent has acquired the likes of Riot Games, Funcom, Splash Damage, and Digital Extremes while purchasing stakes of various sizes in Epic Games, Ubisoft, Frontier Developments, Activision Blizzard, Paradox Interactive, Grinding Gear Games, and more.
It may not be bad, but the consolidation of the games industry is still something we should all look at.