As a result of the purchase of the Chinese company Leyou Technologies, several game studios came under the management of Tencent at once. Among them are Digital Extremes, the creators of the Warframe shooter. Now many are concerned about the question of whether developers will retain their creative independence.The deal, which was approved by 97.7% of Leyou shareholders, became known in the middle of the month.
From December 23, the Chinese company will become private and will become part of Image Frame Investment, which belongs to Tencent.
As part of the deal, which was valued at $1.3 billion, Tencent gained control of Splash Damage, Digital Extremes and Athlon Games studios. The latter is currently working with Amazon to develop an MMO for “The Lord of the Rings” (The Lord of the Rings).
Together with Digital Extremes, the Chinese giant also received the rights to a valuable asset in the form of Warframe. Last year, the number of registered users reached 60 million, and the revenue of the free-play online shooter amounted to $175 million (80% of all Leyou revenues)
After the transaction was completed, the question remained open as to whether Digital Extreme would be able to maintain creative independence and continue to develop Warframe without the intervention of Chinese Tencent.
Despite the change of ownership, Digital Extremes assured the players that the operation of the game will remain 100% in its hands: “One of our main principles is transparency, so we would like to inform you what this deal means. We do not expect any changes in the work on Warframe and the studio’s activities.”
The developers have also repeated several times that they will remain loyal to their community. When making decisions about the development of Warframe, the studio will continue to listen, first of all, to the opinion of the players.
“We will continue to create content for Warframe and maintain creative independence. Tencent is known for respecting the creative solutions and integrity of its internal studios, giving them the freedom to experiment and innovate,” Digital Extremes said in a statement.
Next year, the developers are planning further support for Warframe, as well as updating the game for Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 5.