Klei Entertainment, developers of indie hits Don’t Starve and Oxygen Not Included, announced today that they have agreed that Tencent, the media conglomerate that makes quite a few purchases, will buy a majority stake in the company. The founders of Klei say they will “maintain complete autonomy from creativity and operations in all aspects of the studio”.
Clay made the announcement today in a post explaining why they chose Tencent and what they think the partnership will help them achieve.
“We’ve looked at many different companies and over the years we’ve worked with a large number of publishers and distributors. Tencent is the only company we thought would allow us to maintain the level of control we demand.
“We have been working with Tencent for years and even on points where we disagreed with us, they were always willing to work with us to find the best solution for everyone involved and support us when we felt strong. “
Klei also mentions that the Chinese company Tencent helped them launch Don’t Starve Together in China in 2016 and has since assisted in other Chinese launches, noting that players in China are a big part of their players. “We do not expect significant operational changes for China or anywhere in the world, but we do expect this partnership to help us better support our players in China,” they say.
It’s a similar statement – about retaining creative control – to that of Splash Damage and Digital Extremes when their parent company Leyou was acquired by Tencent in late December.
Over the years, Tencent has acquired Riot Games, Funcom, Splash Damage and Digital Extremes while buying various size bets in Epic Games, Ubisoft, Frontier Developments, Activision Blizzard, Paradox Interactive, Grinding Gear Games and more.
It may not necessarily be bad, but the consolidation of the gaming industry remains something we should all look at.