Tencent, which is a shareholder in Riot Games, Epic, Supercell, Ubisoft, Paradox and Frontier, currently owns close to 29% of the shares in Funcom. The company’s intended takeover has been greeted with “enthusiasm” by the Conan Exiles developer. “We have had a great relationship with Tencent as our largest shareholder so far and we are excited about this opportunity,” said Funcom CEO Rui Casais. “We will continue to develop great games that people all over the world will play, and we believe that the support of Tencent will take Funcom to the next level. Tencent will provide Funcom with operational leverage and insights from its vast knowledge as the leading company in the game space.” Funcom said following the intended acquisition there are no plans to change the company structure. It will also remain an independent business as it continues to support its long-running online games Conan Exiles, Secret World Legends, Age of Conan, and Anarchy Online. In addition to various projects, the studio is currently developing an open-world multiplayer survival game based on Dune. With the acquisition by Tencent, Funcom intends to “increase the ambition level” of the game pending board approval, with resources being “allocated from other initiatives and possible additional financing.” Funcom signed a deal with Legendary Studios in February of last year to develop games based on the Dune franchise as part of a six-year licensing agreement. The deal spans at least three titles on PC and consoles.
