Clay Entertainment, developers of indie hits Don’t Starve and Oxygen Not Included, announced today that they have agreed that Tencent, the media conglomerate that buys a lot, should buy a majority stake in the company. Clay founders say they will retain ‘full autonomy of creativity and operations in all aspects of the studio’.
Clay made the announcement today in a post explaining why they chose Tencent and what they believe will help the partnership achieve.
‘We have looked at many different businesses and worked with a large number of publishers and distributors over the years. Tencent is the only company we believe we can maintain the level of control we demand.
“We have been working with Tencent for years, and even at points where we disagree, they were always willing to work with us to find the best solution for everyone involved and to put us off if we felt strong. has.”
Clay also mentions that the Chinese company Tencent helped them launch Don’t Starve Together in China in 2016 and has since helped with other Chinese launches, pointing out that players in China make up a large portion of their players. “We do not expect significant industry changes for China or anywhere else in the world, but we expect this partnership to help us better support our players in China,” they say.
This is a similar statement – about maintaining creative control – to that of Splash Damage and Digital Extremes when their parent company Leyou was acquired by Tencent at the end of December.
Over the years, Tencent has acquired such as Riot Games, Funcom, Splash Damage and Digital Extremes while buying in various sizes in Epic Games, Ubisoft, Frontier Developments, Activision Blizzard, Paradox Interactive, Grinding Gear Games, and more.
This may not be bad by nature, but consolidating the gaming industry remains something we all need to keep an eye on.