Chinese tech giant NetEase snaps up Quantic Dream as part of its global expansion

NetEase has announced its decision to acquire Quantic Dream. The Detroit: Become Human developer will become the Chinese tech giant’s first studio in Europe.

The acquisition will be completed through NetEase’s gaming division NetEase Games. The financial terms of the deal remain undisclosed.

Quantic Dream, led by its founders David Cage and Guillaume de Fondaumière, will continue to operate independently. It will still publish games on all platforms and release titles developed by third-party studios.

As Cage told GamesBeat, Quantic Dream received a lot of acquisition offers during its 25-year history and even considered going public. However, none of those proposed deals guaranteed the studio’s “editorial independence.”

“NetEase Games’ acquisition comes as a natural evolution in this process and creates a unique opportunity to boost Quantic Dream’s growth by giving our production and publishing teams all the necessary means to excel,” de Fondaumière said.

NetEase bought a minority stake in Quantic Dream in 2019. The first acquisition rumors appeared earlier this year, soon after the French studio announced that Detroit: Become Human had surpassed 6.5 million copies sold globally.

Founded in 1997, Quantic Dream is best known for its narrative-driven games like Fahrenheit, Heavy Rain, and Detroit, as well as its debut title Omikron: The Nomad Soul. The company is now working on several games, including Star Wars Eclipse.

NetEase is one of China’s largest tech companies, with a strong focus on mobile titles. It has invested in a number of Western studios and is now trying to strengthen its positions in Europe and North America due to regulatory pressure in the domestic market.