REACTION - Tencent’s ongoing expansion is an uncertain proposition

Chopping block.

By Jonathan Garrett
24/07/23

It’s always great to see previously independent development teams gain financial certainty and the promise of ongoing investment. We can all agree that the industry looking after its vast talent pool will only lead to further growth. That being said, Tencent’s recent majority stake in Dying Light studio Techland is potentially cause for concern.

As they continue to make substantial plays, there’s always a risk of bloat. Formerly independent teams who have since been acquired would be the first on the chopping block if funding got pulled. As much as they’ve committed to allowing Techland to remaining creatively free, I remain sceptical that there wouldn’t be some kind of content mandate to make a certain type of game.

Perhaps my cynicism lacks merit? In any case, as a big fan of Techland’s games, I sincerely hope they get to spread their wings and continue doing what they do best.


TARPS?

At the bottom of some of our articles, you’ll see a series of absurd looking images (with equally stupid, in joke laden names). These are the TARP badges, which represent our ‘Totally Accurate Rating Platform’. They allow us to identify specific things, recognise positive or negative aspects of a games design, and generally indulge our consistent silliness with some visual tomfoolery.

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