After Five Years at Tencent, Splash Damage Goes Independent

Veteran shooters leave Tencent after five years under Chinese ownership. Splash Damage — the studio behind Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory — is no longer part of the Chinese holding company.

Splash Damage has long secured its place in the history of multiplayer shooters. The team joined Leyou in 2016 and, five years later, came under Tencent’s control. It has now emerged that private investors have bought the studio, ending its ties to the Chinese owners.

GamesIndustry.biz reached out to the UK-based developers. Splash Damage confirmed the report and stated they will continue operating under the existing leadership. That is all the studio is currently willing to share.

Recall that Splash Damage was founded in 2001 and rose to prominence with Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory. The studio went on to develop Enemy Territory: Quake Wars, Brink and Gears Tactics. Their most recent publicly announced project was Transformers: Reactivate, unveiled in December 2022 — which was later reported cancelled in January, alongside a round of layoffs at the studio.

Only time will tell whether Splash Damage, now free from Chinese ownership, can successfully pursue and develop its own projects.

Source: iXBT.games