Tencent Holdings Limited ("a leading provider of Internet and mobile and telecommunications value-added services in China"), have announced today that they have agreed to acquire a minority stake in Epic Games, makers of Unreal Engine and Gears of War.
"We've developed a huge amount of respect for the Epic team for many years now, as dedicated players of Epic's games and as licensees of Epic's Unreal Engine technology. Epic's deep commitment to quality across all of its games and technologies inspires us. They've been raising expectations in gaming for two decades now and they're just getting started," said David Wallerstein, Senior Executive Vice President of Tencent. "We have a lot that we can learn from each other, and we look forward to supporting the Epic team as they embark on their next phase of gaming innovation across both emerging and familiar platforms."
"Tencent's investment will empower Epic to help us do even more of what we do best, which is making great games and game technology. Their expertise in the global online gaming market is second-to-none, and the opportunity to work with them to bring richer experiences to players all over the world is irresistible," said Epic Games President Dr. Michael Capps. "Epic is excited to be full steam ahead on all of its current plans for this generation of games and the next, with the support of a fantastic partner that believes in our strategy and shares our dream."
The cash influx from the investment could allow Epic to acquire more development teams, or it could be used to further assert their independence from publishers such as Microsoft (Gears of War).