Chinese mega-publisher Tencent have continued their investment spree, buying a stake in DayZ, Arma, and Vigor developer Bohemia Interactive. The exact portion of the company purchased has not been revealed, but it’s said to be a minority stake, and that Bohemia Interactive will continue to operate independently. As with most of these deals, one of Bohemia’s big motivations for partnering with Tencent is greater access to the Chinese market, with their mobile sandbox game Ylands seemingly being a bigger focus than more recognized titles like DayZ and Arma. Here’s Bohemia’s statement on the deal…
Bohemia Interactive, a leading games developer in Czechia, is announcing today that Tencent Holding (“Tencent”) has agreed to acquire a minority stake in the company. Following the strategic investment, Bohemia Interactive will continue to operate independently and be led by the existing management team. With more than 20 years in the game industry, Bohemia Interactive has a proven track record of games like Arma and Dayz and is working together with Tencent to bring their PC/mobile sandbox game creation platform Ylands to Chinese players and game makers.
Bohemia Interactive CEO Marek Spanel had the following to say about the new partnership.
We are pleased to deepen our relationship with Tencent, one of the most significant companies in the world. We look forward to working on our current and future generations of games with the support of a strong partner that has known us for many years and understands our unique approach to online games.
As mentioned, Tencent has been on a spending spree recently, amid reports that they’ve raised billions of dollars for investments and acquisitions. In just the past few weeks, they’ve bought stakes in Dontnod and Mundfish and purchased Don’t Starve developer Klei Entertainment outright. What investments might be next on the docket? We’ll just have to wait to find out.
What do you think? Will Bohemia Interactive really remain independent long term, or is this the first step toward a full sellout?
