Tencent is well known to be a massive investor in video game studios across the industry. Since its acquisition of Riot Games, the developer of League of Legends, in 2015, Tencent's aggressive efforts have shown no intention to slow. That isn't changing this week, either, as Tencent is now confirmed to have made a new $44 million investment. Wake Up Interactive, the parent company of Valhalla Game Studios and Soleil, is Tencent's latest addition to its growing roster of teams.
Tencent is reported to have purchased a 90% stake in Wake Up Interactive, according to sources familiar with the matter speaking with Bloomberg. Despite it only just being reported now, the Wake Up Interactive acquisition apparently went through in September. While Wake Up Interactive itself is located in Hong Kong, both Valhalla Game Studios and Soleil have headquarters in Japan. The acquisition is believed to be part of Tencent's efforts to entrench itself in Japan's game development industry.
Wake Up Interactive is a relatively young company. It was founded in March 2017 but expanded quickly with the acquisition of both Valhalla Game Studios and Soleil within six months. Valhalla Game Studios is perhaps best known for its action-shooter Devil's Third, though it hasn't announced a new project since 2016. Soleil has been significantly more productive, releasing Naruto to Boruto: Shinobi Striker, Samurai Jack: Battle Through Time, and Ninjala in recent years, with Wanted: Dead and Vengeance is Mine in development.
It's unclear what Tencent's plans are for Wake Up Interactive going forward. It's possible that Tencent will use Wake Up Interactive to house further acquisitions within the Japanese gaming industry. Alternatively, Wake Up and Soleil will be helpful in bringing games from Tencent's many other teams to Japan across multiple different platforms.
Other recent investments made by Tencent include minority stakes in horror game developer Bloober Team and From Software parent company Kadokawa Games. Recent acquisitions include Don't Starve developer Klei Entertainment and Leyou, the parent company over Warframe-developer Digital Extremes. Tencent also owns Conan Exiles developer Funcom, and majority stakes in Path of Exile developer Grinding Gear Games, Clash Royale developer Supercell, and many, many more studios.
Suffice to say, Wake Up Interactive and its subsidiary studios will now have the financial foundation to pursue whatever goals fit its new agenda. As with all Tencent acquisitions, it's going to take some time to clarify what that new agenda truly is. Some acquisitions, like Riot Games, flourish, while others go largely quiet. Only time will tell with the now Tencent-owned Wake Up Interactive.
Source: Bloomberg