Tencent is adding another video game studio to its lineup by acquiring Slamfire, the parent company of Turtle Rock Studios, the developer behind Back 4 Blood. According to a press release, Turtle Rock will “continue its independent operations” in California, and the current leadership team will continue to run the studio.
Tencent is the name behind many big games worldwide. Among the names behind it are the Riot Games, Call of Duty: Mobile, Honor of Kings, and Pokémon Unite, a 40 percent stake in Epic Games, the developer of Fortnite, and Unreal Engine.
In addition, the company has made several significant investments this year, acquiring the entirety of British game studio Sumo, minority stakes in companies such as Don’t Starve developer Klei Entertainment, Yooka-Laylee creator Playtonic, DayZ developer Bohemia Interactive.
While it’s unclear exactly what’s next for Turtle Rock, the studio emphasizes its commitment to Back 4 Blood. Turtle Rock made the following comments about Tencent’s acquisition in a blog post;
“We get to do something we have never done before as a studio: turn a universe we created into a true long-standing AAA franchise. We can now ensure that the Back 4 Blood franchise is here to stay and we will be working on it well into the future.”
