The logo of internet technology company Netease is seen at the China Digital Entertainment Expo and Conference, also known as ChinaJoy, in Shanghai, China, on July 30, 2021.HONG KONG/PARIS – Chinese gaming giants Tencent Holdings and NetEase have extended their investment in overseas studios, with the former to take a stake in Japan's FromSoftware and the latter acquiring French developer Quantic Dream.
The investments by Tencent and Sony Group Corp, which Kadokawa said is also taking a minority stake, will together raise 36.4 billion yen for the company. The two high-profile deals reflect Chinese gaming firms' continued pivot overseas as growth in the domestic market, which had been key for both Tencent and NetEase, loses steam.
China launched a sweeping crackdown, now easing, on its high-growth tech sector, in part alarmed by what regulators called "disorderly expansion of capital" after acquisition sprees by tech companies.