Chinese gaming and technology giant NetEase continues to invest in Europe-based studios. NetEase announced the acquisition of Quantic Dream, the studio and publisher behind popular titles such as Detroit: Become Human, Beyond: Two Souls and Heavy Rain.
Related: Tencent and Sony acquire over 30% of Elden Ring developer FromSoftware
Quantic Dream will work under the Chinese company’s video games division NetEase Games and will continue to develop and publish AAA-quality games. The studio was established in Paris roughly about 25 years ago and launched several successful games during this period. Quantic is currently collaborating with Lucasfilm Games on a new action-adventure Star Wars game called Eclipse.
NetEase Games and Quantic Dream are no strangers to one another. The Chinese gaming giant invested in Quantic Dream back in January 2019 and the connection between the two gaming entities has been growing since then.
William Ding, CEO and Director of NetEase said they’re thrilled to have the Quantic Dreams team among them and added that there’s a strong trust and respect between the two companies. The experienced businessperson added:
“NetEase will continue to fulfill our promise to support Quantic Dream to realize its full potential. By combining the wild creativity and exceptional narrative focus of Quantic Dream with NetEase’s powerful facilities, resources, and execution capabilities, we believe there are infinite possibilities that could redefine the interactive entertainment experience we provide for players worldwide.”
Quantic Dream’s founder, CEO and Writer-Director David Cage also commented and said the acquisition is a milestone for Quantic. Cage said he truly believes NetEase Games values the French studio’s creative freedom and drive. He added the following words to his statement:
“We will now be able to accelerate the vision we share as a group, of creating landmark titles that touch people on an emotional level. We have highly differentiated games in the making and I truly believe that the best is yet to come from Quantic Dream.
“I am particularly proud that our employees, who were offered a significant share of our capital over the past years, will fully benefit from this acquisition. It is a testimony to our continued commitment to rewarding all those who have made Quantic Dream the successful studio it is today.”
Guillaume de Fondaumière, Co-CEO and Head of Publishing for Quantic Dream also commented and pointed out that there’s been a strong connection between the French studio and NetEase since the initial investment that happened three years ago. He then added:
“We had the opportunity to work closely together and saw first-hand how like-minded and complementary we are. NetEase Games’ acquisition comes as a natural evolution in this process and creates a unique opportunity to boost Quantic Dream’s growth by giving our production and publishing teams all the necessary means to excel.”
NetEase had a rough period for a while both worldwide and at home, but the release of Diablo Immortal in China helped the company recover from the wounds it has received. The Chinese giant posted positive numbers for Q2 2022 and continued to invest in studios in the west.
During the summer of 2022, NetEase invested in the Polish VR game studio Something Random and launched a new US-based AAA studio called Jar of Sparks with the industry veteran Jerry Hook.
