Tencent continues its plan of global games domination by announcing it has acquired Slamfire, Inc., the parent company of Turtle Rock Studios. The Chinese conglomerate now owns the Back 4 Blood developer, which will sit under Tencent Games Global. And the keyword here is ‘global,’ as Tencent has a stake in many, many game companies worldwide.
“We are huge fans of Turtle Rock’s games, especially their amazing approach to creating co-operative online games,” said Eddie Chan, chief strategy officer of Tencent Games Global, in the press release. “We can’t wait to see what comes next, and we’re excited to be part of their future.”
Turtle Rock will remain independent, according to the announcement and its president, Steve Goldstein. It will continue operating as normal from its home in California, and the acquisition will “have no effect on Back 4 Blood, Turtle Rock’s hit multiplayer action game, which is published by Warner Bros. Games.”
Tencent brings in Turtle Rock Studios, which won’t be without company
Tencent is a name that has become well known by the gaming community. It currently has its own set of internal game development studios. But it also holds a stake in companies across the globe, including Riot Games, Epic Games, TiMi Studio Group, Klei Entertainment, Bloober Team, Dontnod, and dozens of others. Last year, it signed a $1.5 billion USD deal to acquire Leyou, the parent of developers Digital Extremes (Warframe) and Splash Damage (Dirty Bomb). Today, Turtle Rock joins the team.
“We are all looking forward to joining the Tencent family of studios,” said Steve Goldstein, president and general manager of Turtle Rock Studios, in the press release. “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.”
