Independent creator of Back 4 Blood, Evolve and Left 4 Dead empowered to develop new games, remain under management of co-founders, Phil Robb and Chris Ashton
LAKE FOREST, Calif. & SHENZHEN, China–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Tencent Holdings Ltd. (SEHK: 00700) (“Tencent”) has acquired Turtle Rock Studios’ (“Turtle Rock”) parent company, Slamfire, Inc., the companies announced today.
Turtle Rock will become part of Tencent, while retaining its independent operations out of Lake Forest, CA, USA, and its existing team will continue to run all studio operations, led by co-founders Phil Robb and Chris Ashton. The acquisition will have no effect on Back 4 Blood, Turtle Rock’s hit multiplayer action game, which is published by Warner Bros. Games.
“We are all looking forward to joining the Tencent family of studios,” said Steve Goldstein, president and general manager of Turtle Rock Studios. “Tencent’s outstanding partners, global reach, deep knowledge of gaming and unprecedented support will help us create the kinds of ambitious games we dream of, while allowing us to retain our autonomy and independent spirit.”
“We are huge fans of Turtle Rock’s games, especially their amazing approach to creating co-operative online games,” said Eddie Chan, chief strategy officer of Tencent Games Global. “We can’t wait to see what comes next, and we’re excited to be part of their future.”
Juno Capital Partners represented Turtle Rock as M&A and strategic advisor, Creative Artists Agency represented Turtle Rock as its talent agency and Straddling, Yocca, Carlson & Rauth and Kabealo Law acted as legal counsel for Turtle Rock in the transaction.
About Turtle Rock Studios
Turtle Rock Studios, Inc. is an award-winning game developer best known as the creators of Back 4 Blood, Evolve and Left 4 Dead. Turtle Rock Studios is currently supporting its acclaimed co-op shooter, Back 4 Blood, in partnership with Warner Bros. Games.
About Tencent
Tencent uses technology to enrich the lives of internet users. Its communication and social services, Weixin and QQ, connect users with each other and with digital content and services, both online and offline, making their lives more convenient. Its targeted advertising service helps advertisers reach out to hundreds of millions of consumers in China. Tencent’s fintech and business services support partners’ business growth and assist their digital upgrade. Tencent was founded in Shenzhen, China in 1998. Shares of Tencent (00700.HK) are listed on the Main Board of the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong.
Contacts
Chris Kramer – chriskramer@tencent.com
