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[bitbydeath]

The buyer is currently unknown.

Tencent is in talks to buy Leyou.

Leyou owns:

Digital Extremes - 310 employees
Splash Damage - 300 employees
Athlon Games - 250 employees
Kingmaker
Radiance Games

http://iis.quamnet.com/media/IRAnnouncement/1089/EN_US/9353196-0.PDF

Chinese tech giant Tencent is in exclusive talks to acquire Leyou Technologies, the Hong Kong-listed games developer announced on Friday.

Tencent in exclusive talks to buy Hong Kong gaming firm Leyou

Chinese tech giant Tencent is in exclusive talks to acquire Leyou Technologies, the Hong Kong-listed games developer announced on Friday.

www.cnbc.com

 

[Oddvintagechap]

Sony is tired of those expensive first party games. jk.

 

[V4skunk]

Never heard of them.
Almost certainly cancer though.

 

[Xplainin]

The buyer is currently unknown.

Leyou owns:

http://iis.quamnet.com/media/IRAnnouncement/1089/EN_US/9353196-0.PDF

Interesting. Suits Sony down to the ground.

 

[Arkam]

i wouldd love to see what Splash Damage could do with a decent budget and timeline in the competitive FPS realm. I worked with them on Dirty Bomb and think they could do well given a better chance. But then again all their recent success has been with Batman, ports or that new Gears Strat game.

 

[Men_in_Boxes]

Please be Sony or MS.

 

[jakinov]

If it's Sony, as I said in the other two threads, I don't think this decision is specifically for PlayStation. Large corporations like buying out other companies for investment purposes because they don't want to have money sitting in the bank. This puts Sony's hand in a pot that they aren't really in. There hasn't been a lot of evidence that it's SIE that's pushing for this acquisition and not Sony as a whole. Same with the investment in Epic today.

The Mojang acquisition for example from Microsoft was not done by the Xbox division. It was done as an investment at a higher-level and given to the Xbox division.

 

[Kerotan]

It would be in the interest of Sony to own a few big 3rd party franchises that launch on xbox so if MS do buy the likes of WB Sony got some clout they can pull from xbox if MS decide to do it to PS5.

 

[StylishMGTOW]

Can please someone explain to me, if Sony were to really buy them out, why it would be a good investment? I've searched the kind of games the studios make and, while Digital Extremes seems like any OK investment, the others... not so much?

 

[Bryank75]

Can please someone explain to me, if Sony were to really buy them out, why it would be a good investment? I've searched the kind of games the studios make and, while Digital Extremes seems like any OK investment, the others... not so much?

They have a lot of things going on..... They have Warframe, A LOTR MMO being made with Amazon, Splash Damage that made lots of multiplayer stuff like Gears multiplayer, The Telltale properties and they also have the rights to make games based on Hasbro..... GI Joe and Transformers etc.

But the studio quality is dubious at best. IMO.

They could want studios in China also for the reduced cost and potential quality.

 

[Pallas]

Maybe Tencent swooped in if Sony didn’t?

 

[Bryank75]

Maybe Tencent swooped in if Sony didn’t?

It's not actually Tencent but iDreamsky, which is backed by Tencent financially.... strange!

stolen;

Reminder of what Sony would be acquiring if it's indeed them:

• Digital Extremes (Warframe, 200+ employees)
• Splash Damage (mostly a support studio for Gears of War and Halo in recent years, announced that they're working on a Stadia title a few months ago, 300 employees)
• Athlon Games (currently working on an f2p MMO set in the world of The Lord of the Rings, also owns an unknown stake in LCG Entertainment/Telltale Games)
• Kingmaker (Chinese developer)
• Radiance Games (developers of an Idle RPG, currently working on 2K's Civilization Online)
• Certain Affinity (20% stake with an option for a full acquisition next year, in the past mainly helped on various shooter franchises such as Halo, Call of Duty and Doom. Currently working on a Transformers game and another game called Last Expedition, from which not much is known. 200+ employees)

 

[StylishMGTOW]

They have a lot of things going on..... They have Warframe, A LOTR MMO being made with Amazon, Splash Damage that made lots of multiplayer stuff like Gears multiplayer, The Telltale properties and they also have the rights to make games based on Hasbro..... GI Joe and Transformers etc.

But the studio quality is dubious at best. IMO.

They could want studios in China also for the reduced cost and potential quality.

Ah, I see. Thank you.

From what you've listed... There's just other studios that fits Sony's bill, you know? I guess they're just trying to fill the gaps instead of investing in studios that make sense(?). I don't know, just throwing out my two cents.
I'm still salty about them not acquiring Quantic Dream, though.

 

[Bryank75]

Ah, I see. Thank you.

From what you've listed... There's just other studios that fits Sony's bill, you know? I guess they're just trying to fill the gaps instead of investing in studios that make sense(?). I don't know, just throwing out my two cents.
I'm still salty about them not acquiring Quantic Dream, though.

Me too... maybe they have some masterplan but right now I cannot see where this is going.

 

[Deleted member 471617]

At this point, I would be surprised if it wasn't Sony.

 

[StylishMGTOW]

Me too... maybe they have some masterplan but right now I cannot see where this is going.

Then you have that $250 million minority stake on Epic... That's a lot of money, but we're talking about Epic here. $250 million on Epic sounds like chump change. I could think of a million other ways to spend that money, but you do you, Sony!

 

[Xplainin]

They have a lot of things going on..... They have Warframe, A LOTR MMO being made with Amazon, Splash Damage that made lots of multiplayer stuff like Gears multiplayer, The Telltale properties and they also have the rights to make games based on Hasbro..... GI Joe and Transformers etc.

But the studio quality is dubious at best. IMO.

They could want studios in China also for the reduced cost and potential quality.

They are most likely looking to increase their MMO portfolio. Interesting that most are on PC, so I would assume Sony would keep that intact should they buy them.

 

[bitbydeath]

Ah, I see. Thank you.

From what you've listed... There's just other studios that fits Sony's bill, you know? I guess they're just trying to fill the gaps instead of investing in studios that make sense(?). I don't know, just throwing out my two cents.
I'm still salty about them not acquiring Quantic Dream, though.

I’m still salty about them throwing away Evolution Games. Their gaming output was comparable to Insomniac, maybe it wasn’t received as well but they churned out tons of games (I liked) in a short timeframe.

 

[Bryank75]

Then you have that $250 million minority stake on Epic... That's a lot of money, but we're talking about Epic here. $250 million on Epic sounds like chump change. I could think of a million other ways to spend that money, but you do you, Sony!

Could have bought Remedy for that or a little more or QD and iOi and possibly Ember lab.

I think the Epic thing is about putting music concerts and films in Fortnite though... weird stuff like that.

 

[Men_in_Boxes]

I think if either Sony or MS buys this group, it puts their first party stable of developers over the top.

This battle is fascinating to watch. MS made things interesting finally.

 

[StylishMGTOW]

I’m still salty about them throwing away Evolution Games. Their gaming output was comparable to Insomniac, maybe it wasn’t received as well but they churned out tons of games (I liked) in a short timeframe.

Imagine Motorstorm on PS5... I CAN'T DO IT WITHOUT SHEDDING A METAPHORICAL TEAR.

It hurts, man.

 

[Stuart360]

I’m still salty about them throwing away Evolution Games. Their gaming output was comparable to Insomniac, maybe it wasn’t received as well but they churned out tons of games (I liked) in a short timeframe.

Driveclub wasnt all that, but i think they should of given them another shot at MotorStorm before shutting them down.

 

[StylishMGTOW]

Could have bought Remedy for that or a little more or QD and iOi and possibly Ember lab.

I think the Epic thing is about putting music concerts and films in Fortnite though... weird stuff like that.

Oh.......... Talk about flushing money down the toilet.
But again, you do you, Sony!

 

[V4skunk]

I've researched the companies. Four words! Shovel ware and cancer.

 

[Flying Toaster]

It would be an interesting acquisition but I don't really understand why Sony would want to invest into some port studios and Warframe.

 

[StreetsofBeige]

It would be an interesting acquisition but I don't really understand why Sony would want to invest into some port studios and Warframe.

Leyou (just checked their games) is heavy into Warframe, a slew of F2P PC kinds of games and Splash Damage is big into helping make Gears games.

Looks like Sony is trying to diversify and grab a multiplat shooter, the PC F2P crowd, and a studio known to make good games in a support role.

Perhaps they are going to try funneling some of those PC F2P games to PS5, and use SD for remakes.

 

[StylishMGTOW]

It would be an interesting acquisition but I don't really understand why Sony would want to invest into some port studios and Warframe.

Exactly!

 

[StylishMGTOW]

I've researched the companies. Four words! Shovel ware and cancer.

Succinct! I like you!

 

[GHG]

Sony wasting money on this trash and for a few Sweeney tweets.

You hate to see it.

 

[Psykodad]

Could have bought Remedy for that or a little more or QD and iOi and possibly Ember lab.

I think the Epic thing is about putting music concerts and films in Fortnite though... weird stuff like that.

Sony wants to focus more on multiplayer-games, with less AAA-singleplayer games.

A purchase like this seems perfectly in line with that strategy, because those seem like multiplayer-focused studios.

 

[TheCrimsnFuckr]

I have to wonder if this is more of a Sony buying the company out as an investment and letting it sit, or a matter of SIE specifically seeking the purchase to bring these studios into Sony WWS.

 

[MiyazakiHatesKojima]

If it's Sony, as I said in the other two threads, I don't think this decision is specifically for PlayStation. Large corporations like buying out other companies for investment purposes because they don't want to have money sitting in the bank. This puts Sony's hand in a pot that they aren't really in. There hasn't been a lot of evidence that it's SIE that's pushing for this acquisition and not Sony as a whole. Same with the investment in Epic today.

The Mojang acquisition for example from Microsoft was not done by the Xbox division. It was done as an investment at a higher-level and given to the Xbox division.

This makes a lot more sense than just the simple "Sony wants more first party studios" explanation.

I just wish they acquired Ready At Dawn before facebook did

 

[ShinNL]

Anyone who insults Warframe has to fight me



(old screenshot, over 1200 hours now...)

 

[thicc_girls_are_teh_best]

Congrats, Sony

 

[THEAP99]

So did Sony do it? I wonder if this is more for sony or SIE actually

 

[GHG]

In all seriousness I think it will be Epic Games making this purchase.

Epic and Sony:

 

[Knitted Knight]

Sony's foot inside China.

 

[Tesseract]

Sony's foot inside China.

 

[Yoboman]

Sony need to diversify with multiplayer so these devs make a lot of sense

 

[THEAP99]

Would this be SIE buyout? They would become PlayStation studios?

 

[Knitted Knight]

Would this be SIE buyout? They would become PlayStation studios?

Probably but operate like Sony Online Entertainment in terms of focus. I'm sure one or two of those teams will release a exclusive or two.

 

[Krappadizzle]

How could Sony say no to the dominant potential of Brink 2:ReBrinkining?

Digital Extremes is a solid if not average studio though and they've been around for a long time.

 

[ZZZZ]

Warframe has been nothing but a disappointment in the past couple of years, Fortuna was complete trash, they promised a bunch of changes and never delivered, and they keep just making the same mistakes, me and my guildmates left the game and we never looked back.

 

[Barakov]

Sony's foot inside China.

This is how you defeat communism.

 

[theclaw135]

I've researched the companies. Four words! Shovel ware and cancer.

They've contributed to pretty good games.. Unreal Tournament 2004 is shovel ware?

 

[Three]

I bet it's MS and their "we need Japanese games" so we bought Leyou instead.

 

[M1chl]

Interesting. Suits Sony down to the ground.

You mean MS, since Splash Damage is developer behind Gears multiplayer.

 

[Xplainin]

You mean MS, since Splash Damage is developer behind Gears multiplayer.

MMOs are something Sony has very little of, and it suits their existing roster.
There wont be another Gears MMO for a long time, so I doubt MS would care too much.

 

[M1chl]

MMOs are something Sony has very little of, and it suits their existing roster.
There wont be another Gears MMO for a long time, so I doubt MS would care too much.

I am not sure if Digital Extremes or Splash Damage are studios for MMOs, as far as I know, they have been known for MP games.

 

[Snake29]

It's not actually Tencent but iDreamsky, which is backed by Tencent financially.... strange!

stolen;

Reminder of what Sony would be acquiring if it's indeed them:

• Digital Extremes (Warframe, 200+ employees)
• Splash Damage (mostly a support studio for Gears of War and Halo in recent years, announced that they're working on a Stadia title a few months ago, 300 employees)
• Athlon Games (currently working on an f2p MMO set in the world of The Lord of the Rings, also owns an unknown stake in LCG Entertainment/Telltale Games)
• Kingmaker (Chinese developer)
• Radiance Games (developers of an Idle RPG, currently working on 2K's Civilization Online)
• Certain Affinity (20% stake with an option for a full acquisition next year, in the past mainly helped on various shooter franchises such as Halo, Call of Duty and Doom. Currently working on a Transformers game and another game called Last Expedition, from which not much is known. 200+ employees)

It would be a great get for them since they have said that they want to invest more in multiplayer games (these will PS5/PC games for sure) in the future.