Tencent is reportedly looking to offload multiple game studios, including Story of Seasons developer Marvelous.
As reported by Bloomberg, Chinese tech conglomerate Tencent is reportedly negotiating exits from several of its minority video game studio investments as part of a reassessment of its portfolio. The company has minority investments in the likes of Ubisoft, Bloober Team, Epic Games, Shift Up, and Remedy. However, the only studio named in the report is Story of Seasons and Daemon X Machina developer Marvelous – Tencent acquired 20% of the company's shares in 2020.
The tech giant is reportedly looking at selling stakes back to original management in some cases, even if it incurs a loss.
This report comes a week after it was reported that French developer Don't Nod – known for Life is Strange, Lost Records, and most recently Aphelion – is potentially facing trouble as Tencent is reportedly not likely to back the studio going forward after missed sales expectations. Tencent currently owns a 42% stake, with word that the company could face closure should a publishing deal not be made with an external partner for its next project.
It's also reported that Tencent's investments in the likes of Bayonetta developer PlatinumGames and Elden Ring developer FromSoftware (and its parent company Kadokawa) will not be affected by these changes.
In a statement given to Bloomberg, Tencent says: "We remain fully committed to working with our investees and maintaining our strong presence in the Japanese game market over the long term."
