It became known about the possible plans of the Chinese Tencent to acquire the publisher 1C Entertainment, known for such series of games as “Behind enemy Lines”, “Space Rangers” and King’s Bounty. CEO of 1C Entertainment Nikolay Baryshnikov in an interview with App2Top.ru stated: “I have no comments on this topic.”
The information turned out to be public, thanks to a message from the Polish Competition and Consumer Protection Authority (UOKiK), where 1C Entertainment is legally registered.
The report indicates that Amsterdam-based Proxima Beta Europe, a subsidiary of Tencent, intends to take control of 1C Entertainment.
How serious these intentions are, how much money can be discussed and how negotiations are going (if at all), is an open question.
At the moment, 1C Entertainment is a group of companies that includes 1C Online Games, 1C Publishing, 1C SDP, as well as Cenega publishing house, Muve online store and Qloc service company engaged in testing, localization and porting (she was responsible for transferring Gotham Knights, Mortal Kombat 11 and Tony Hawk projects to PC’s Pro Skater 1 + 2).
Despite the fact that the information may not be confirmed over time, the deal from Tencent makes a lot of sense. In the case of buying a gaming 1C, it receives a huge portfolio of classic IP popular in Eastern Europe (more than 100 titles), an excellent technical porting team, additional access to the Russian market and, of course, a strong development team of King’s Bounty 2.
Moreover, the purchase of 1C will not be Tencent’s first step in the market of Russian companies. Earlier this year, the Chinese giant invested an unspecified amount in Mundfish, the developers of Atomic Heart.