Wuthering Waves (Image courtesy of Kuro Games)
SEOUL, Dec. 6 (Korea Bizwire) – Major gaming companies worldwide are intensifying their competition to secure valuable intellectual property through aggressive mergers, acquisitions, and investments, with Asian technology giants leading the charge.
Tencent, China’s largest gaming and technology company, has recently acquired domestic game developer Kuro Games, the studio behind Wuthering Waves, adding to its growing portfolio of gaming subsidiaries.
Kuro Games, founded in 2017, achieved significant success with its anime-styled open-world game released globally in May, earning praise for its sophisticated graphics and action gameplay.
The acquisition strengthens Tencent’s capabilities in developing high-quality anime-styled games, complementing its existing holdings, which include major gaming companies Riot Games and Supercell.
This move follows industry speculation in October 2023 about Tencent’s potential acquisition of European gaming giant Ubisoft. In 2022, Tencent invested approximately 300 million euros to acquire a 10% stake in Ubisoft and a 49.9% stake in its holding company, Guillemot Brothers.
Meanwhile, Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE), the developer and operator of the PlayStation platform, is competing with Tencent for control of Kadokawa, a Japanese media conglomerate.
Kadokawa’s extensive portfolio includes numerous subsidiaries in manga, anime, film, magazine publishing, and game distribution within Japan. Notable among its holdings are FromSoftware, the developer of the globally acclaimed 2022 game Elden Ring, and Japan’s largest video platform, Niconico.
With Kadokawa’s market capitalization reaching approximately 640 billion yen, industry analysts predict that if successful, Sony’s acquisition would exceed its previous major purchase of Bungie, the North American developer known for the Destiny series, which cost $3.6 billion in 2022.
Sources indicate that Tencent is also engaged in acquisition discussions, primarily interested in Kadokawa’s gaming and animation intellectual property.
Korean gaming companies have also stepped up their international acquisition efforts. In August, Krafton acquired Tango Gameworks, the Japanese game developer behind Hi-Fi Rush, from Xbox.
NC Soft has secured stakes in domestic game developer Big Game Studio and Swedish game developer Moon Rover Games through investments of 37 billion won and 4.8 billion won, respectively, this year.
Nexon, continuing its expansion strategy, has leveraged its 2019 acquisition of Swedish game developer Embark Studios to launch the first-person shooter game The Finals and is preparing to release its new title Arc Raiders.
Kevin Lee (kevinlee@koreabizwire.com)
