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Why Tencent spent US$1.3 billion to buy video gaming firm Leyou, but left it to languish - SCMP

Bryank75

Banned
  • Eight months after Tencent’s acquisition, Leyou is mired in cancelled projects and hobbled by an exodus of employees
  • Tencent is said to be particularly interested in one Leyou investee company, American developer Certain Affinity

'Fast-forward to August and Amazon has cancelled its online game deal with Leyou
because the US company could not come to terms with Tencent. What is more alarming is that Leyou has become a shadow of its former self, according to four people with knowledge of the matter who declined to be identified because the information is not public.

For Shenzhen-based Tencent, those count as tiny setbacks when compared with its outsize position in the global video gaming market, where it continues to “ruthlessly” snap up stakes in companies big and small at whatever the cost to dominate the industry, according to the people familiar.


Tencent declined to comment.'

'The deal, according to people familiar, gave Tencent what it really wanted: the option to invest into and own Certain Affinity, an independent American video game developer based in Austin, Texas. In October 2017, Leyou reported that it acquired a 20 per cent stake in Certain Affinity for US$10 million.

Certain Affinity has a proven track record developing innovative, triple-A console and personal computer action video games, including both original titles and co-development on multiple games, in the popular Call of Duty and Halo franchises as well as the DOOM and Left 4 Dead series.


In May last year, ahead of its Leyou takeover, Tencent started casting a wider net for content from console gaming developers
, in search of intellectual property (IP) to create the next blockbuster, as the company races to meet increased global demand for new games.

Tencent plans to pursue more collaborations and investments in the console gaming sector, following its deals with Japanese developers
Marvelous and PlatinumGames, according to analysts.'
 
season 9 GIF
 

IntentionalPun

Ask me about my wife's perfect butthole
Huh?

Leyou is a holding company that owns a bunch of developers... including far more than the $10 million Certain Affinity 20% stake, that surely Tencent didn't pay $1.5 billion to acquire lol

I mean Digital Extremes alone must be worth a ton considering Warframe..
 
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Bryank75

Banned
Huh?

Leyou is a holding company that owns a bunch of developers... including far more than the $10 million Certain Affinity 20% stake, that surely Tencent didn't pay $1.5 billion to acquire lol

I mean Digital Extremes alone must be worth a ton considering Warframe..

20% is a good chunk!
 

cireza

Banned
Tencent "kind of" bought PG already (imagine someone giving you a ton of money, but telling you that you are still free to do whatever you want. Yeaaaaah riiiiight...).
They bought Sumo Digital recently (fuck this so much).

I am not too optimistic about the future of these companies.
 
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IntentionalPun

Ask me about my wife's perfect butthole
20% is a good chunk!
It's just a bizarre article.. I'm a bit fascinated by it really. They mention Civilisation Online, but that's made by XL Games and 2K.. not.. Leyou, who aren't a studio....

I can't make heads or tails of it lol.. especially the last bit:

One former Leyou employee, who declined to be named, said the company was well-positioned to do well, based on its IP and its various projects, but it has now become nothing more than “a satellite studio” for Tencent.

Maybe Leyou was also a studio? But.. what games did it develop.. certainly not Civilisation Online lol

Writer seems confused.
 

IntentionalPun

Ask me about my wife's perfect butthole
Tencent "kind of" bought PG already (imagine someone giving you a ton of money, but telling you that you are still free to do whatever you want. Yeaaaaah riiiiight...).
They bought Sumo Digital recently (fuck this so much).

I am not too optimistic about the future of these companies.
That's kinda how minority investments in companies work, where there is still a majority shareholder... at best they might have a board you get a seat at, but they often don't even come w/ that and it's rather pointless w/ one person controlling over 50% of the votes.

As long as one person or entity owns 51% of a company, that person or entity has full control of the company.
 
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Perrott

Gold Member
Why would Tencent be that interested in Certain Affinity? A studio whose most high-profile endeavor was to be tasked with making a new BioShock game for 2K over half-a-decade ago and failing to deliver said title...
 

IntentionalPun

Ask me about my wife's perfect butthole
Why would Tencent be that interested in Certain Affinity? A studio whose most high-profile endeavor was to be tasked with making a new BioShock game for 2K over half-a-decade ago and failing to deliver said title...
Yeah this article is just bizarre lol

I wonder if it's a weirs smear piece or the author legit just got some wires crossed.
 

Bryank75

Banned
It's just a bizarre article.. I'm a bit fascinated by it really. They mention Civilisation Online, but that's made by XL Games and 2K.. not.. Leyou, who aren't a studio....

I can't make heads or tails of it lol.. especially the last bit:



Maybe Leyou was also a studio? But.. what games did it develop.. certainly not Civilisation Online lol

Writer seems confused.

I think they are saying that they worked as a support studio making a portion of each game....
 

Unknown?

Member
Funny thing is that in a pure capitalist system there wouldn't even be any rules and annoying regulators to force competition...
True but there also wouldn't be laws favoring certain companies over another, allowing for unfair competition. As of now we are(USA) an interventionalist corporatism economy, not capitalist as we no longer allow fair competition.
 
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Patrick S.

Banned
On one hand, they restrict underage citizen from playing longer than two hours a day, and one hour during school days, because computer games are "digital opium", and on the other hand they invest tons of money in gaming studios... sounds kinda fishy...
 

Bryank75

Banned
On one hand, they restrict underage citizen from playing longer than two hours a day, and one hour during school days, because computer games are "digital opium", and on the other hand they invest tons of money in gaming studios... sounds kinda fishy...
Addict the western kids while their kids take over.... EZ-PZ!
 
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