As we have told you very recently it is looking more and more like game companies are looking to head to online services to bolster their profits. We have heard rumors that Crytek is looking to move to the online only “free to play” model and now we hear something that might push another company into that market as well. This time the move is from a slightly different perspective and in a different market.Today there is news that Epic Games has allowed Chinese Internet Company Tencent (almost sounds like a rapper’s name…) to purchase a minority share in the company. For those of you that do not know who Epic is they are the company behind games like Gears of War, Infinity Blade and created the Unreal Engine. Now this move could mean a larger push towards online gaming for Epic or it could simply be a way for Epic to capitalize on a market that is a growing region for gaming.
Unfortunately China has traditionally been labeled as a high piracy area where counterfeit products and software is easy to get at even in regular markets (although exact details or figures have never been provided). To combat this Epic could be looking to use an existing asset like Tencent. Through the purchase they can leverage Tencent’s reach (it accounts for about 33% of online gaming revenue in China) to reach more users while maintaining a grip on its IP.
Tencent also owns a majority stake in Riot Games, this is the same company that developed and publishes League or Legends. You remember them they just had a breach in their European and Nordic servers.
We can only hope that this move does not impact the games that Epic will be producing but that it the large check will allow them to develop some new and better games in the very near future. It is just sad that the gaming world appears to be moving to the online real so fast; especially since they cannot even keep the servers they have secure now.
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