The Epic Games Store is a new place to purchase PC games online. For one, Tencent owns a 40% stake in Epic Games, the makers of Fortnite. Tencent, one of the world’s biggest video and online gaming companies by revenue, today made another move to help cement that position. Part of the sale was motivated because Steven Ma, the head of publishing at Tencent Games, is a big fan of Hearts of Iron 2. That transformation makes Chinese juggernaut Tencent decision to invest in the firm back in 2012 look like a very smart move. Tencent’s Dreams. Like Riot Games, Supercell reportedly retains most of its independence and is still located in Finland. Though developers might pay more for a successful game in the long run, it opened Unreal Engine up to an enormous community of indie developers and helped fuel intense competition between rival engine, Unity, which up until then was considered to be the best technology for small developers. PC Gamer is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. But considering 60 percent of Tencent's $19.13 billion in gaming revenue last year came from mobile games, and Supercell's enduring hits like Clash of Clans, the acquisition makes a lot of sense. The Chinese conglomerate Tencent has a major presence within the industry. Tencent has been a big investor in gaming studios over recent years and most recently gave a huge injection of funds into Platinum Games. You will receive a verification email shortly. In less time than it took for me to type that first sentence, I found the following information. This is the sort of question that is more quickly answered with a google search. Seeing that "the old model" of selling games wasn't working, Epic founder Tim Sweeney decided to join forces with Tencent to better learn about operating live-service games. Incorporated in the Cayman Islands. Wanting to cash in on the mobile gaming boom, Tencent tried to get Riot to make a mobile version of LoL. According to Daily Mail, the Chinese company had previously invested heavily in Epic Games, purchasing a 40% stake in the company in 2012. NY 10036. Similar to Platinum Games, Yager's infusion of cash allows the company to keep its independence while upscaling its operations. Epic Games Inc. has used the overwhelming success of its popular videogame “Fortnite” as a springboard to raise more money. Tencent purchased 48.4 percent of the remaining shares in Epic at the time, which equates to an overall total of a 40 percent stake in Epic Games. Share. This is the second part in a two-part series. Tencent’s Dreams. President Trump Now Targeting Tencent, Who Own Riot Games And 40% Of Epic [Update] Luke Plunkett. We don't share it, sell it, or broker access to it for advertising like so many other companies do. In 2011, Tencent went from being Riot Games' publishing partner in China to its majority stakeholder after paying $400 million for a 93 percent stake in the League of Legends developer. Massive Chinese internet company Tencent snatched up 48.4 percent of Epic Games' available capital shares for $330 million last summer, giving the company the right to … Chinese tech conglomerate Tencent have managed to draw the eyes of the US government for their dealings with American companies like Riot and Epic Games. Since the partial investment by the Chinese company Tencent, some consumers have become wary of Epic Games' reliability and use of their data, particularly in relationship with the Epic Games Store. Now, a government agency want to know how Tencent are handling the security of Americans’ personal data. The company remained unprofitable for the first three years. Published 4 months ago: August 7, 2020 at 12:30 pm-Filed to: donald trump. Five years later, the merged companies of Activision Blizzard announced a deal to buy back Vivendi's stake in the company and become independent, and Tencent jumped at the opportunity to buy 5 percent of the company for an undisclosed amount. Paradox Interactive - 5 percent: When Swedish grand strategy publisher Paradox first went public in 2016, Tencent swooped in to buy 5 percent for $21 million. Chinese tech conglomerate Tencent have managed to draw the eyes of the US government for their dealings with American companies like Riot and Epic Games. Tencent purchased 48.4 percent of the remaining shares in Epic at the time, which equates to an overall total of a 40 percent stake in Epic Games. That's probably just the beginning, though, as Tencent is rumored to be seeking a complete acquisition of Bluehole. The firm has not revealed just how profitable WeChat is on its own, but it is clear that Tencent - as a whole - is thriving. Reddit Just got a $150 Million Investment from TenCent who also own 40% of Epic Games, Like to Censor & Sell Your Information. Future US, Inc. 11 West 42nd Street, 15th Floor, Venture Capital is money, technical, or managerial expertise provided by investors to startup firms with long-term growth potential. Last year, Fortnite made $2.4 billion, making it the most profitable game that year. Tencent owns a 40-percent stake in Epic Games, the developer of the massive hit, Fortnite, as well as the Epic Games Store. It's both an internet and entertainment giant in China—the equivalent of Facebook or Google—but gamers worldwide are probably more familiar with Tencent's investments into a growing number of game developers and publishers. US President Trump recently issued an executive order banning transactions with Tencent's WeChat app, but has since clarified that this won't affect the company's gaming offers. Theory 1: Epic Games is funded by a Chinese corporation and can’t be trusted. Tencent has stakes in many other companies, including developer Platinum Games, Discord, and Reddit. Funcom - 29 percent: Tencent's most recent purchase was 29 percent of Funcom, the makers of Conan Exiles and The Secret World. Tencent is the world's largest games publisher. South African media company Nasperspurchas… President Trump Now Targeting Tencent, Who Own Riot Games And 40% Of Epic. Tencent's investment into Bluehole first began in 2017 with Tencent first acquiring 1.5 percent of Bluehole before increasing that investment to an undisclosed amount rumored to be around 10 percent. Supercell - 84.3 percent: Tencent's $8.6 billion dollar investment in this Finnish mobile developer is one of the biggest purchases in videogame history. An initial coin offering (ICO) is an unregulated means by which funds are raised for a new cryptocurrency venture. Steven enjoys nothing more than a long grind, which is precisely why his specialty is on investigative feature reporting on China's PC games scene, weird stories that upset his parents, and MMOs. Please refresh the page and try again. It also owns around 20 percent stake in Sea, a South-East Asia esports and publishing company, an undisclosed majority stake in web game publisher Miniclip, and about a half a dozen minority stakes in a variety of mobile game companies to boot. The situation looked grim until Ubisoft struck a deal with Vivendi that saw the French conglomerate divest its stake to a variety of investors that included Tencent. Tencent is the biggest gaming company in the world. We've updated the article to reflect that. Californian company Riot Games, best known for its billion-dollar franchise League of Legends, is now 100 percent owned by Chinese company Tencent. But its use of exclusive releases is rubbing some consumers the wrong way. In fact, Tencent is the biggest video game company in the world. Discord: Discord has received $158 million in funding last year, including an undisclosed amount from Tencent (among many other investors). Those titles, too, are … That's why I've created this reference listing each of Tencent's public investments in foreign gaming companies (basically, companies outside of China), including, where possible, how much of that company Tencent owns. Platinum Games - Undisclosed investment: At the beginning of 2020, Tencent invested an undisclosed amount into Platinum Games, but the terms of the deal aren't specified. Tencent bought a 40 percent stake in Epic at a valuation of about $825 million back wen “Fortnite” was still in the early stages of development. The success of “Fortnite” and its popular online battle royale mode has propelled the company to the top of the more than $100 billion videogame industry, forcing sector heavyweights Activision Blizzard, Inc. (ATVI) and Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) to rethink their strategies. It paid off. Tencent's purchase of Riot was nothing short of prescient—League of Legends is the most popular PC game in the world, pulling in an estimated $1.4 billion in revenue last year. For years, Vivendi had been steadily acquiring more stake in Ubisoft in hopes of ousting founder Yves Guillemot and seizing control for itself—putting thousands of jobs in jeopardy in the process. 8/06/20 10:30PM • Filed to: tencent. 12. KKR & Co. Inc (KKR). Some games industry analysts have suggested that Tencent is buying games firms as it has a limited games design capacity of its own. Tencent made that investment in 2012. Fatshark - 36 percent: Warhammer: Vermintide 2's success led Tencent to acquire a large minority stake in Swedish developer Fatshark in early 2019 for an estimated $56 million. This also included famed and highly profitable video games such as League of Legends, Valorant, and Fortnite. Epic's 40% owner, Tencent Holdings, has … The offers that appear in this table are from partnerships from which Investopedia receives compensation. In February 1999, Tencent's messenger product OICQ released. Surprisingly, the Potomac, Maryland-based company’s strategy to shift away from big, boxed, marketing-driven titles and pricey games paved the way for massive profits. Tencent snatched up 48.4% of Epic Games shares last year – that comes to around $330 million invested – and even has the right to nominate individuals to Epic Games' board of directors. Please keep an eye on this mods. Riot Games remains largely free to steer the game how it pleases, but that relationship has some ugly downsides. Since the free-to-play game was released last year, Epic has netted more than $1 billion in revenue from microtransactions, according to estimates from SuperData, as players forked out to upgrade character outfits and dances. 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