Tag: Tencent
News Tencent Announces 15% Staff Reduction at UK-Based Sackboy Maker Sumo Group
Livelihoods of 270 employees on the line
Parent company Tencent has announced a round of layoffs at the UK-based Sumo Group, which includes international studios worldwide, as well as Sackboy and Texas Chain Saw Massacre developer Sumo Digital. A press release announced the news, revealing that the reduction would affect employees based in Canada,...
News Elden Ring Is Allegedly Getting a Smartphone Adaptation
Tencent converting console classic into free-to-play gacha
While everyone awaits Elden Ring’s anticipated Shadow of the Erdtree expansion, it seems like a mobile adaptation of the FromSoftware fantasy classic has quietly entered development. Reuters, citing “three people familiar with the matter”, claims Chinese titan Tencent is working on a...
News Remedy Ditches Free-to-Play Model for Upcoming Multiplayer Game
Project Kestrel now a "premium" title
Alan Wake 2 developer Remedy has today announced the online multiplayer project it's making with Tencent won't be a free-to-play release anymore. Instead, it'll launch as "a premium game with a strong, cooperative multiplayer component" now known as Kestrel (previously Vanguard). Besides the fact it takes place...
News Revived Military FPS Delta Force Teased for PS5, PS4, Full Reveal at Gamescom's ONL
Black Hawk Down
Delta Force is a series of military FPS shooters which began all the way back in 1998 and came to PlayStation with PS1's Urban Warfare (the fifth game in the franchise). Creator NovaLogic shuttered back in 2016, and its assets were acquired by THQ Nordic, which in turn, was swallowed by a bigger fish, the Embracer Group. Now, a...
News Dying Light Studio Techland Set to Be Acquired by Tencent
Will become majority shareholder
Dying Light 2 developer Techland has announced Chinese firm Tencent is setting itself up to become the studio's main shareholder, effectively acquiring the Polish team. Confirmed by founder Pawel Marchewka in a website post, he says the buyout allows Techland "to move full speed ahead with the execution of the vision...
News Tencent Acquires Stake in Dev of Korean PS5 Console Exclusive Stellar Blade
Shift up
SHIFT UP, the Korean company behind PS5 console exclusive Stellar Blade, has been partly acquired by Tencent. The Chinese juggernaut announced a 20 per cent stake in the studio today, and will become the second-largest shareholder in the firm, behind founder Kim Hyung Tae. Tencent already has ties to the team, as it’s the worldwide...
News Ex-PlayStation Boss Shawn Layden Lands New Job at Tencent
Joins as a strategic advisor
PlayStation has had its fair share of corporate shake-ups in the last few years, with a few executives climbing the ladder, switching focus, or jumping ship. Shawn Layden left the company in 2019, much to the dismay of industry enthusiasts. What he's been up to in the meantime has been less in the public domain, but a...
News System Shock Sequels are a Matter for Tencent to Decide, Says IP Owner
One step at a time
Nightdive Studios, the developer of the upcoming System Shock remake and owner of the original IP, says that the future of the franchise is now in the hands of publisher Tencent. Speaking to VGC at Gamescom, Nightdive CEO Stephen Kick explained that the rights to the third game, which has been in development under studio...
News Tencent Poised to Take Major Stake in French Publisher Ubisoft
Chinese titan en route to seal deal
Tencent looks poised to become the largest shareholder in Ubisoft, as it flies to France to secure a deal with the Guillemot family, who founded the firm and currently control 15 per cent of its shares. According to a report by Reuters, the Chinese juggernaut is aiming to become the largest single shareholder of...
News Tencent Buys Back 4 Blood Developer Turtle Rock Studios
Once bitten, twice shy
Chinese juggernaut Tencent has purchased Slamfire, the parent company of Back 4 Blood developer Turtle Rock Studios. This means that the team will become part of the conglomerate, while retaining its “independent operations” in Lake Forest, California. The studio will continue to be fronted by co-founders Phil Robb and...
News Tencent Acquires Minority Stake in Yooka-Laylee Dev Playtonic
Team retains IP control
The spending spree of Chinese company Tencent continues as Yooka-Laylee developer Playtonic confirms it has sold a minority stake to the technology firm. The investment will be used to expand the studio from a single team to multiple, improve the developer's headquarters, and expand to new locations. Playtonic retains full...
News Chinese Open World RPG Honor of Kings Looks Mind Bogglingly Good
You need to see this
Another week, another Chinese RPG that’s sure to have jaws on the floor. This latest effort, Honor of Kings: World, is based on a smartphone game, and is being developed by TiMi Studio Group, a subsidiary of juggernaut Tencent. Judging from the trailer, it seems to be inspired by series like Monster Hunter, with the plot being...
News Tencent Tables $1.3 Billion Takeover of Sackboy Dev Sumo Digital
Offer acccepted
Chinese juggernaut Tencent has tabled a $1.27 billion bid for British developer Sumo Digital, which has been accepted. It means, assuming there are no unforeseen complications, the Sackboy: A Big Adventure maker will become a subsidiary of the WeChat app owner. This isn’t the conglomerate’s first foray into video games: it also...
News Platinum Games Receives Investment from Chinese Tech Giant Tencent
Partnership will aid self-publishing
The ever-busy Platinum Games always seems to be spinning lots of plates. Right now it's working on Babylon's Fall as well as the Switch exclusive Bayonetta 3, and it's also releasing remasters of both the original Bayonetta and Vanquish next month. It's partnering with various publishers for all these titles,...
