Tencent has acquired another part of the studio behind Black Myth: Wukong
Tencent now owns 24% of Game Science shares.
Black Myth: Wukong
The deal was highlighted by Niko Partners analyst Daniel Ahmad. He noted in the database of the Chinese service QCC that on May 1, Tencent purchased shares of the studio from Hero Games—one of the key partners of the creators of Black Myth: Wukong. This acquisition made Tencent the sole external shareholder of Game Science.
Previously, Tencent owned only 5% of Game Science shares, which it acquired in 2021 for an undisclosed amount.
How much Tencent paid for the Game Science stake this time is also unknown. Two years ago, Hero Games co-founder Daniel Wu, in an interview with Bloomberg, mentioned that in 2017 his company was fortunate to purchase shares of the creators of Black Myth: Wukong for just 60 million yuan ($8.5 million), but if the deal had been made after the game's release, it would have cost "billions of yuan." Maybe Tencent had to deal with such a price point.
Black Myth: Wukong was released on August 20, 2024, on PC and consoles, quickly becoming a hit. Game Science has not publicly disclosed figures for the game for some time, but analysts estimate that in its debut year, it sold over 27 million copies.