NetEase acquires minority stake in Quantic Dream
Investment will "open new opportunities for our studio" says co-CEO Guillaume de Fondaumiere
Chinese games giant NetEase has acquired a minority stake in Quantic Dream, it was announced today.
In a statement from NetEase, the company confirmed that Quantic Dream will continue to operate independently under its current leadership.
The two companies didn't disclose the scale of investment, but co-CEO Guillaume de Fondaumiere said it will "open new opportunities for our studio".
The investment will be channeled towards supporting Quantic Dream's "vision of becoming a global, multi-franchise entertainment company" and to develop "advanced technologies and games for the future".
"With a strong focus on in-house development, we are constantly looking for partners that complement us in the development and creation of the next generation games," said NetEase vice president Ethan Wang.
Creative director and CEO David Cage added: "The landscape of the gaming industry will go through major evolutions in the coming years, with new hardware to come, new business models to explore and new ways of playing to invent.
"We want Quantic Dream to take a key role in this exciting future and having NetEase by our side as a strategic partner will allow us to expand our creative vision and develop the company to its fullest potential.
"NetEase understands what Quantic is about as they share our passion for high quality games and our ambitions for the studio."
The investment comes off the back of a mixed year for Quantic Dream. While Detroit: Become Human was the studio's fastest selling game to date, the studio also lost a court battle over its toxic work culture.
NetEase, meanwhile, was hampered by the Chinese game market freeze which saw it lose roughly 31.6% of its market value over the course of 2018.