Massive Game Studio Which Tasted Success on Nintendo Switch Snapped up by Tencent

Chinese Game developers Tencent Holdings Ltd. are very well known for creating PUBG Mobile and Call Of Duty: Mobile, which are immensely popular games amongst gamers. Tencent is constantly looking for opportunities to set foot beyond the Chinese market and is doing some significant business in order to realize this.

And Tencent has acquired one Japanese creative studio that has produced several Nintendo Switch hit games.

Tencent acquires Japanese studio Wake Up Interactive Ltd. as part of its talent acquisition program

As reported by Japan Times, Tencent has silently signed a deal to acquire a 90% stake in Wake Up Interactive Ltd. This acquisition cost the Chinese gaming giants a whooping 5 Billion Yen ($44 million). The deal is yet to be disclosed, and the transaction hasn’t been made public yet. Wake Up also owns Soleil, the studio behind Travis Strikes Again: No More Heroes, which is another hit amongst Nintendo Switch fans.

This investment was a huge leap for the company, who previously invested in smaller amounts to secure an international market and publishing rights.

Tencent struck this deal in September and this comes under a series of deals that the gaming giants struck with Japanese game makers in 2021. Wake Up’s Soleil is very well known for its high-quality PC, console, and smartphone games which pushed Tencent to invest further.

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Tencent highly values the Japanese market and has been acquiring talent from Japan for the past two years. They intend to acquire IPs in anime and video games due to rising restrictions in the Chinese industry. Furthermore, Beijing’s curb on gaming time and approvals for publishing has forced Tencent to look beyond their home market.

Tencent’s compatriot company NetEase is further planning to acquire a 6.86% stake in Kadokawa Corp. And Grasshopper Manufacture Inc. is also now a part of NetEase.

Tencent and NetEase are constantly acquiring several small game developers in Japan in order to bolster their approach to produce a hit gaming title. They want to secure their position in the global market as a premier game developer. Game consultant Serkan Toto says, “Tencent sees no advantage in announcing a deal as it doesn’t want to alert the competition and give them insight into its strategy.”

Perhaps Tencent’s ruthless approach towards their business might actually turn fruitful in the near future.

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