Tencent’s stake will have ‘no effect on the independence of our company’, says PlatinumGames’ CEO

PlatinumGames has announced it has received an undisclosed investment from Tencent.

In a brief press statement on the official website, President and CEO Kenichi Sato assured fans that the partnership would have “no effect on the independence of [the] company” and intimated the investment will be used to expand the developer’s self-publishing activities. 

“We would like to announce we have received a capital investment from Tencent Holdings Limited as a basis for partnership,” president and CEO Kenichi Sato said in the announcement, “This partnership has no effect on the independence of our company, and we will continue operations under our current corporate structure.

“We hope to use this capital to strengthen our foundation as a business and expand from game development into exploring self-publishing. We also hope that this partnership can give us a wider global perspective, while still creating high-quality games that stay true to our name.”

Former PlatinumGames CEO Tatsuya Minami is now leading M-Two Inc., the new studio contributing to the remake of Capcom’s Resident Evil 3. 

M-Two Inc. has reportedly been in operation for over a year and is comprised of several former Platinum and Capcom employees, including Minami. It’s understood the studio was formed with some funding from Capcom, even though the studio operates independently.

It’s also rumoured Minami had originally intended to recruit former colleague and Resident Evil creator Shinji Mikami to co-found the startup, hence the company’s name ‘M-Two’. However, it seems Mikami has opted to remain at Tango Gameworks. 

The president of Bayonetta, Metal Gear Rising and Scalebound developer Platinum Games resigned back in February 2016 and was replaced by former admin director Kenichi Sato.