Tencent to acquire 29% stake in Funcom

As announced today in a press release, Tencent is set to acquire 29% of the shares in video game developer Funcom.

Tencent is one of the largest video game companies in the world, with whole or partial ownership of many other game companies including 100% of Riot Games, 40% of Epic Games, 5% of Activision Blizzard, and 5% of Ubisoft.

Funcom is best known for the MMORPG titles Age of Conan and Anarchy Online, along with turn-based tactical role-playing game Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden.

The game company also recently acquired the exclusive rights to develop and publish PC and console games based on the DUNE IP for the next six years. Funcom is currently working on an open world sandbox game set in the DUNE universe and is also working with Legendary Entertainment, who are set to bring a DUNE feature film to the big screen in December 2020.

“We are very pleased to see Tencent come in as the largest shareholder of Funcom,” says Funcom CEO Rui Casais. “Tencent has a reputation for being a responsible long-term investor, and for its renowned operational capabilities in online games.”

“The insight, experience, and knowledge that Tencent will bring is of great value to us and we look forward to working closely with them as we continue to develop great games and build a successful future for Funcom.”

Along with investing in Funcom, Tencent also recently established a deal with Nintendo to bring the Nintendo Switch to China and teamed up with The Pokémon Company to develop a new game.