Is Tencent the Blackrock of the Gaming Industry? A €15 Million Loan Agreement to Control and Alan Wake Makers Says It All
Tencent Games stands as the gaming division of the Chinese multinational conglomerate of the same name, which in itself groups together various studios that have been known to deliver generational hits. Often, it’s been said to be the Blackrock of gaming due to its sheer influence over the industry.
Currently, the notable teams under the Chinese giant include LightSpeed Studios, Riot Games, and TiMi Studio Group, which has given us League of Legends and Call of Duty: Mobile and much more. It’s through these IPs that the holdings company has generated its most money. Now, it’s looking to bank upon the deal with developer Remedy Entertainment for Control and Alan Wake.
Remedy Gets Into a €15 Million Loan Agreement with Tencent Games
Remedy Entertainment, the minds behind the iconic Alan Wake and Control series, have entered into a loan agreement with the Chinese giant Tencent for €15 million.
This announcement was disclosed through a press release from the developer. It’s a move that will allow Remedy to push boundaries for its games, boost development, and even self-publish future games.
As we move towards self-publishing, this financing will support us in developing and fully realizing the potential of the games we have in development and successfully carrying out the commercial activities of our next self-published games.
The loan agreement between both parties includes an 8% annual non-cash interest that will convert at a conversion rate of EUR 27.2 per share, an over 60% premium over the closing cost for Remedy’s shares as of yesterday.
With the conversion part, the Chinese giant can choose to get Remedy Shares instead, up to 811,000 of them, which would mean nearly 6% of the total shares.
It’s not the first time we’ve seen Tencent invest in the Finnish development studio. Five months ago, the company raised its stakes in Remedy to 14%, and if it exercises the new agreement, it could take up to 20% of the overall shares of the studio.
Currently, Remedy has a number of titles in development, including Control 2 and spin-off Project Condor. The studio is also working to deliver the Max Payne 1 and 2 remake. Let’s hope these funds can help the studio realize the vision it wants to bring these games.
Remedy Says Control 2 is in Full-Swing Despite Controversies
Following a troublesome situation with its leadership, Annapurna’s game publishing brand, Annapurna Interactive, revealed that its entire staff of 25 employees had exited the company. This came right after Annapurna Interactive failed to split its own company.
The news devastated game fans, as the company was known to be the industry’s top indie publisher for known titles such as Outer Wilds, What Remains of Edith Finch, and Outer Worlds.
Many fans were worried about how this situation would end up affecting Remedy as it had multiple deals with Annapurna. However, the developer’s communications director, Thomas Puha, has revealed that due to the fact that Annapurna Interactive is a different entity from Annapurna Pictures, its deal with the latter remains unchanged by departures.
Puha reminded players that Annapurna Pictures is only co-funding the upcoming Control 2, and Remedy is the one controlling the strings as it is publishing the game.
Since the deal between Annapurna Pictures and Remedy Entertainment is still ongoing, gamers can still look forward to TV and film adaptations of Control and Alan Wake as promised by the deal. Annapurna Pictures has a phenomenal track record, working on films such as Phantom Thread, Her, and American Hustle.
With that in consideration and Remedy’s storytelling capabilities in its game, we can’t wait to see what both of these have in store for fans.
With that said, what do you think about Remedy’s deal with Tencent Games? Let us know in the comments below.
#Tencent #Blackrock #Gaming #Industry #Million #Loan #Agreement #Control #Alan #Wake #Makers