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Yager has revealed its receiving “a strategic minority investment” from Chinese megacorp Tencent.
The Berlin-based game development studio – which was established in 1999 and describes itself as “a leading global platform for game development, publishing, and operations” – says the capital will be used to strengthen its development and publishing activities.
Tencent says the studio will continue to run “fully independent[ly]” and all operations will continue under its current corporate structure and leadership, with its 110 employees continuing to be led by the studio’s five founding members.
“Tencent is not only the world’s leading games company but also a prolific investor with a stellar track record: We’re humbled to join the line-up of Tencent partners which reads like a games industry Who’s Who”, said Timo Ullmann, CEO of Yager. “We’re confident that this will greatly enhance the scope of our business, not just by getting access to Tencent’s network and resources but by tapping the vast industry know-how Tencent possesses.”
Tencent has stakes in a number of US and European development studios, most recently Supercell and Sharkmob, as well partnerships with companies like The Pokemon Company, Razer, and Nintendo. It also has stakes in Activision Blizzard and Fortnite developer, Epic Games.
The company also recently bid to acquire ‘full ownership’ of Funcom. The megacorp already owns a hefty 29 per cent stake of the Norweigian developer, but according to a statement from the studio, Tencent has announced a voluntary cash offer to acquire all shares.
Tencent also recently acquired a 10 per cent share of Sumo Group, the parent company of Crackdown 3 and LittleBigPlanet 3 developer Sumo Digital, and PlatinumGames also recently announced it had received an undisclosed investment from Tencent. In a brief press statement on the official website, Plantinum president and CEO Kenichi Sato assured fans that the partnership would have “no effect on the independence of [the] company” and intimated the investment will be used to expand the developer’s self-publishing activities.
