Grinding Gear Games, the New Zealand-based builders behind Path of Exile, have bought “a majority stake” – so as much as 80% of the corporate’s shares – to Chinese publishers Tencent, for an undisclosed quantity.
Grinding Gear Games managing director Chris Wilson says that the deal will enable the builders to develop their staff. “We’re looking to increase our headcount over the next year from 114 full time employees to around 130. We’re planning to do more expansions for our games, in parallel, and of course bolstering the team will be really useful in achieving that.”
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The staff made the announcement on their website. They make it clear that “we are going to stay an impartial firm and there will not be any huge modifications to how we function. We need to reassure the group that this is not going to have an effect on the event and operations of Path of Exile.”
Tencent started publishing Path of Exile in China final 12 months. Grinding Gear Games say they accepted the supply not simply because Tencent is among the largest publishers on the planet, but in addition as a result of they’ve a repute for respecting builders and their choices. “Tencent’s agenda is evident: to present us the sources to make Path of Exile nearly as good as it may be”.
According to the FAQ, the staff is not going to be making modifications to Path of Exile reminiscent of making it pay-to-win or giving the Chinese model desire, and Grinding Gear Games remains to be an independently-run firm – Tencent simply own up to 80% of their shares. They add that “we will have financial reporting obligations to Tencent, but this will have minimal impact on our philosophy and operations”.
Aside from Grinding Gear, Tencent have made a lot of huge investments already this 12 months. They’re increasing their stake in PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds builders Bluehole, purchased 5% of Ubisoft, and have invested $15 million in Fortnite esports – they usually already personal 40% of Fortnite’s Epic Games.
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