Tencent continued its spending spree today by purchasing a minority stake in Dontnod Entertainment. The studio is responsible for hit indie titles such as Life is Strange, Vampyr, and Twin Mirror.
The company spent €30 million on the purchase, and those funds will reportedly go towards self-publishing Dontnod's next IP on PC, console, and mobile. The two also entered a business agreement that revolves around the mobile gaming market in China, indicating Tencent will likely help Dontnod break into the burgeoning marketplace.
It's worth pointing out that Tencent only purchased a minority stake in Dontnod. This means the popular studio should still be able to work autonomously, with Tencent unable to pull strings behind the scenes. Tencent does, however, have "an option to propose the appointment of a representative on the Board of Directors."
"We are delighted to welcome Tencent as a DONTNOD investor," said Oskar Guilbert, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Dontnod. "This is a real expression of trust from a key online game leader, which is behind a number of success stories and has invested in several leading companies in the video game industry. Through this partnership, DONTNOD is perfectly positioned to take advantage of the various growth drivers in the video game industry, in particular in China and on mobile platforms, in cooperation with an industry leader."
Although it's clear the funds will be used to help break into the mobile marketplace, nothing is mentioned about specific projects or upcoming releases.
Tencent has been throwing money around left and right over the past few weeks, acquiring a majority stake in Don't Starve developer Klei and reportedly raising billions for a massive publisher buyout. The company had more M&A deals in the gaming industry than any other studio during 2020, and it looks like that trend will continue in 2021.
Earlier this month, the US government was supposedly discussing a ban on investing in Tencent – although it's likely now preoccupied with the whole GameStop situation, whose stock continues to surge due to a few popular threads on Reddit and a tweet from Elon Musk.