Chinese media conglomerate Tencent has purchased a sizeable stake in Bohemia Interactive, according to a new report on The Information. The DayZ and Arma 3 developer joins Epic Games and Supercell (known for mobile titles like Clash of Clans) among the major studios and companies Tencent owns a stake in.
According to the report, Tencent paid $260 million for the 70-80 percent stake. Based in the Czech Republic, Bohemia’s last major release was Ylands, though it continues to roll out updates for both Arma 3 and DayZ. In 2018, Bohemia partnered with Tencent to publish Ylands on its own WeGame platform.
According to analyst Daniel Ahmad speaking to The Information, Tencent’s investment is a bid to compete with NetEase, which distributes Minecraft in China. “Tencent is filling a gap in PC sandbox games as they don’t have their own self-published titles,” he said.
It’s been a busy year for Tencent. The company purchased Conan Exiles studio Funcom earlier this year, invested in Spec Ops studio Yager, and more recently, took over development of System Shock 3. Tencent owns Riot Games too, which recently shipped Valorant.
I’ve reached out to Bohemia Interactive for comment, and will update if I hear back.