Chinese tech company NetEase has acquired French studio Quantic Dream, known for developing games such as Heavy Rain and Detroit: Become Human.
The acquisition marks Quantic Dream as NetEase's first European studio, with the company taking more steps into AAA games development following its involvement with mobile titles. NetEase has largely been responsible for operating Chinese version of games, previously partnering with Blizzard to release Chinese versions of World of Warcraft, Overwatch, and StarCraft II.
In a Tweet, NetEase said of the purchase, "We are excited to welcome Quantic Dream, the leading French game developer and publisher, to become part of NetEase Games, and bring high-quality AAA video game experiences to players around the world".
Quantic Dream, founded by game designer David Cage, has come under fire in recent years over reports of hostile work environments. A report from three French news outlets — Le Monde, Mediapart, and Canard PC — saw the results of a joint investigation of what Le Monde called "a toxic corporate culture." The studio denied the claims, saying they had "been the subject of a veritable smear campaign by a few media outlets, based on slanderous remarks whose reliability and origin of the sources raise questions".
Of the acquisition, Quantic Dream said, "To continue to evolve and dream big, we are delighted to announce that we will be joining NetEase!"
"We will retain our artistic independence and champion our teams, who benefit directly from this new venture".
At the time of writing, a purchase point for the acquisition has not been revealed.
This article was originally published on dbltap as NetEase Acquires Detroit: Become Human Developer.
