Following the merger with Blizzard of Vicarious Visions, Chinese video game giant Tencent is announced – known for titles such as League of Legends and Collision between tribes – will acquire a “majority interest” in Clay Entertainment.
If you are not familiar with this Canadian developer, this is the studio behind games like Do not starve and Brand of the Ninja. Clay Entertainment founder Jaime ‘Bigfoot’ Cheng says Clay will ‘retain full autonomy of creativity and operations in all aspects of the studio, including projects, talent and more’.
In a frequently asked question on Clay’s website, Cheng explained that in the future, there will be no immediate changes to “staff, projects or other operations”. As for the reason for this decision, it will enable the studio to ‘not have to worry about finances’, do their ‘best creative work’ and navigate a changing industry.
“There are some tedious accounting changes that we will have to adapt to. Besides that, I will continue to run the studio as before, without any changes to staff, projects or other operations.”
“Clay has been around for 15 years and we have made many changes over the years to respond to a changing world. My desire throughout has been to enable people to do, learn and grow their best creative work. “not having to worry about finances and being able to enjoy their lives outside the studio. It has not changed.”
“This partnership helps us move through a changing industry, and helps us focus on what we do best: create unique experiences that no one else can.”
According to a report by Niko Partners via GamesIndustry.biz, Tencent invested in 31 games related to the gaming industry last year – a new record for the company. It was a “mixture of acquisitions, mergers, small and large interests and rounds of financing.”
Some of these transactions included a small stake in PlatinumGames and a stake in Japanese publisher Marvelous. With 2021 just starting, who knows what Tencent may still acquire in the coming months.