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Dimapur, Dec. 19 (EMN): Chinese tech company Tencent announced on Friday that it has added another game developer to its roster after buying Slamfire, the parent company of Back 4 Blood and Left 4 Dead developer Turtle Rock Studios.
On its website, Turtle Rock wrote, "By joining the Tencent family, we will not only get access to their vast resources and expertise, but we have found a partner who is encouraging us to be ambitious and visionary. Although our company is being acquired, we will remain independent and continue to be run by our co-founders, Phil Robb and Chris Ashton."
In a joint press release, the two companies said that the acquisition have no effect on Back 4 Blood and that Turtle Rock will continue to operate independently out of its office in Lake Forest, CA, USA.
Turtle Rock assured its fans that it will continue to "support Back 4 Blood and develop new exciting multiplayer experiences."
The company also teased plans to turn the Black 4 Blood universe into a true AAA franchise. "Additionally, 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," wrote Turtle Rock.
Tencent has been making strides in the gaming space all year. For instance, in July it acquired Little Big Planet 3 developer Sumo Group for $1.26 billion and in November it picked up a minority stake in Yooka-Laylee studio Playtonic.
"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."
"We will continue to transparently communicate with you all, provide updates on all our progress through our Trello board and expand upon what makes Back 4 Blood so special," wrote Turtle Rock.