Tencent, the Chinese video game juggernaut, has bought Back 4 Blood developer Turtle Rock Studios for an undisclosed sum. The purchase comes just two months after the studio’s latest game was released.
Tencent has gained a reputation within the industry of purchasing established western game studios. Arguably Tencent’s most impactful purchase was Riot Games in 2011. Tencent bought the League of Legends developer just before the game shot to the top of the eSports scene around the world.
Tencent also owns a 40% stake in Epic Games. Tencent’s investment in the company came before the studio created Fortnite, the Epic Games Store, or started purchasing developers like Psyonix, the developer of Rocket League, and Harmonix, the developer behind the Rock Band games. Tencent’s purchase of Turtle Rock Studios further solidifies its status as a bonafide video game conglomerate. Like many of Tencent’s acquisitions, Turtle Rock will remain an independent studio.
Turtle Rock’s President, Steve Goldstein, said “We are all looking forward to joining the Tencent family of studios” and “Tencent’s outstanding partners, global reach, deep knowledge of gaming and unprecedented support will help us create the kinds of ambitious games we dream of, while allowing us to retain our autonomy and independent spirit.”
Back 4 Blood fans will be happy to know that the studio intends to continue with its support plans for the game. In the press release announcing the acquisition, Turtle Rock said the support from Tencent will “ensure that the Back 4 Blood franchise is here to stay and we will be working on it well into the future.”
Back 4 Blood has been receiving regular updates since the game was released in October. The latest update, released yesterday, introduced an offline campaign with progression, new card types, a seasonal event, and more. If the Tencent purchase allows the developer to support the game even more than it already has then things are looking good for fans of the game.
