Tencent enters in exclusive talks to acquire Warframe parent company Leyou

By Samuel Tolbert
published

Another big purchase for Tencent is looming.

Warframe Image
Warframe Image (Image credit: Digital Extremes)

Warframe Image

Source: Digital Extremes (Image credit: Source: Digital Extremes)

What you need to know

  • A recent report indicated that Sony was preparing a bid for Leyou.
  • Leyou is a Hong Kong-based holding company that owns studios like Digital Extremes, the developers of Warframe.
  • Leyou also owns Splash Damage, a team that developed Gears Tactics and has worked with The Coalition in the past.
  • Today, Leyou announced that it has entered exclusive discussions to be acquired by Tencent.

Today, holding company Leyou announced that it has entered into exclusive talks with megaconglomerate Tencent to be acquired. The announcement was made shortly after stock ceased trading. As part of this discussion, Leyou will not be entertaining any other bidders at the current time and is talking solely with Tencent Mobility Limited, a subsidiary of Tencent.

A short while ago, reports indicated that Sony was potentially preparing a bid to purchase Hong Kong-based Leyou. Leyou owns multiple game development studios including Digital Extremes, the developers of Warframe, as well as Splash Damage, who most recently developed Gears Tactics. Leyou also owns publisher Athlon Games, as well as studios Kingmaker and Radiance Games. Leyou also holds a 20% stake in Certain Affinity.

At this time, it appears that Sony has been outbid, though it's worth pointing out that these are exclusive discussions and an agreement for Leyou being acquired by Tencent may not be reached.

In 2019, Sony acquired Insomniac Games for $229 million, a purchase that was mainly made in cash. Sony also just invested $250 million into Epic Games, acquiring a very small minority stake. If Sony had won the bid for Leyou, it could've integrated the new teams into Sony Worldwide Studios. Meanwhile, Tencent has invested in countless studios and publishers, acquiring majority and minority stakes in companies like PlatinumGames.

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Samuel Tolbert
Samuel Tolbert

Samuel Tolbert is a freelance writer covering gaming news, previews, reviews, interviews and different aspects of the gaming industry, specifically focusing on Xbox and PC gaming on Windows Central. You can find him on Twitter @SamuelTolbert.

4 Comments
  • I'd rather Sony...
  • Most would. Just like most would rather have Microsoft win whatever bidding is being done for WB. Although, I must say I have yet to see Tencent become anything like EA or Activision type of enterprise with their holdings. Edit: One caveat is that Tencent is a lot more likely to be making multi-plat games. I do think if Sony bought Leyou they be more likely to use the studios for PS only gaming. (except for Warframe couldn't imagine the backlash if that went PS only) So, the question is do you want the games everywhere or locked behind a single ecosystem? As a gamer I prefer games should be everywhere (or more then just one walled ecosystem).
  • I guess I worry more about the nation of China more than tencent themselves.
  • Nope, I'm an Xbox nad PC gamer...Tencent is a much better option, imho.