Chinese publisher Tencent continues its global expansion, purchasing a stake in Fatshark, who developed the Warhammer: Vermintide series. This follows the announcement of the sequel having accrued over two million players. Fatshark CEO Martin Wahlund told GamesIndustry.biz that the studio was “in a strong position” to continue growing while remaining independent.
“We are excited to announce that Tencent has chosen to invest in Fatshark. Tencent is known for investing in market leading top rated companies. With the investment, Fatshark is in a strong position to continue to grow while staying independent. Our unaltered mission will be to bring high-quality games to our fans around the globe,” said Wahlund.
Swedish site DI Digital reported that Tencent have acquired 36 percent stake in the studio for 500 million SEK. This is about $56.3 million, which is no small amount of money. As it stands, the publisher owns Riot Games (who developed League of Legends), acquired an 80 percent majority stake in Path of Exile developer Grinding Gear Games, and a 40 percent stake in Epic Games.
That’s not counting stakes in Activision Blizzard and Bluehole (of PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds fame), or investments in other companies across Asia. What is the next step for Tencent though, considering how much of the Western market it’s invested in? Only time will tell, so stay tuned for more details.