Chinese Giant Tencent Plans Full Acquisition of Funcom; Dune Game May Get Increased Scope

Today Oslo-based developer Funcom reached out with a press release announcing Tencent’s intention to fully acquire the studio.

Tencent currently owns almost 29% of the company, and management is recommending current shareholders to sell their share to the Chinese giant.

Funcom CEO Rui Casais accompanied the press release with a comment:

“We have had a great relationship with Tencent as our largest shareholder so far and we are excited about this opportunity.

We will continue to develop great games that people all over the world will play, and we believe that the support of Tencent will take Funcom to the next level. Tencent will provide Funcom with operational leverage and insights from its vast knowledge as the leading company in the game space.”

Another comment was provided by Tencent senior vice president Steven Ma.

“We are impressed by Funcom’s strengths as a developer of open-world multiplayer, action and survival games. Funcom has a strong track-record in developing new titles with long life span. We are glad to deepen our relationship with Funcom and look forward to collaborating with Funcom to deliver more exciting and enjoyable game experiences to fans worldwide.”

The press release also mentioned that Funcom’s management, staffing, and structure won’t be impacted by the acquisition.

The studio will also continue to support its current games Conan Exiles, Secret World Legends, Age of Conan, and Anarchy Online.

On top of that, the announcement explains that Funcom’s management intends to increase the scope and ambition of the upcoming Dune survival game pending approval from the studio’s board.

With this decision, the game would be larger than Conan Exiles even if it would require additional financing and redirecting of resources. The project would launch after approximately two years of development.

The redirection of resources would primarily come from a previously-announced Mutant Chronicles co-op shooter which has already been impacted by changes in scope and would be delayed to after the launch of the Dune game.

Speaking of Tencent, we recently learned that they invested in PlatinumGames. Looks like they aren’t done yet.