Tencent has acquired a majority stake in Don’t Starve studio Klei Entertainment.
As detailed in a forum post, by Klei Entertainment founder Jamie Cheng, the company will continue to operate as it did before, “with no changes to staffing, projects or other operations.”
Moreover, the Don’t Starve creator will maintain “full autonomy” when it comes to creativity and company operations, including talent acquisition and projects.
“Klei has been around for 15 years, and we have made many changes over the years in order to respond to a changing world,” wrote Cheng.
“Consistently, my wish has been to enable people to do their best creative work, to learn and grow, to not have to worry about finances and be able to enjoy their lives outside the studio. This has not changed.
“This partnership helps us navigate a changing industry, and helps us focus on what we do best: making unique experiences that no one else can.”
Strong partnership
Klei Entertainment and Tencent already have history, as the pair worked together to Bring Don’t Starve to a Chinese audience.
Over the years, Klei Entertainment has considered working with various companies. However, the Chinese tech giant is the only one that would allow the studio to keep the level of control it desires.
“We’ve been working with Tencent for years, and even at points where we disagreed, they were always willing to work with us to find the best solution for everybody involved and defer to us when we felt strongly,” said Cheng.
Through the deal, Klei Entertainment expects to offer better support to its Chinese players, though there won’t be “significant operational changes for China or anywhere else in the world.”
Done deal
The Don’t Starve creator has become the latest in a long line of games deals to have been secured by Tencent.
Last year, the Chinese firm closed 31 deals, the majority of which were with other companies located in China. In December 2020, Tencent acquired Leyou for $1.3 billion, the company’s most expensive agreement of the year.
Through the acquisition, Tencent also snapped up Digital Extremes, which Leyou had a majority stake in. Since then, the Warframe developer has claimed it will maintain creative independence following Tencent’s takeover.
However, it also made a number of investments. Two such examples are Wizard and French mobile games specialist Voodoo.
