French leading game developing company Quantic Dream has been 100% acquired by NetEase, one of the biggest Chinese internet technology companies. Rumors of the acquisition started back in May, and Quantic Dream finally announced the news on its official website in early September.
Quantic Dream is known for its early works partnering with Sony to release three exclusive games on PlayStation, Heavy Rain and Beyond: Two Souls for PS3 and Detroit: Become Human for PS4. Sources suggest that Quantic Dream had approached several gaming companies to negotiate being acquired after it published Detroit: Become Human and ended its partnership with Sony in 2018.
Quantic Dream has gotten into a series of scandals in recent years involving sexual harassment, racism and toxic working culture. These issues are reportedly causing hiring difficulties for Quantic Dream right now; several job listings are still vacant years after being posted.
On the other hand, NetEase is no stranger to acquiring studios, and it had already purchased a minority stake in Quantic Dream early in 2019. NetEase also fully sponsored the establishment of Nagoshi Studio in 2020 with Toshihiro Nagoshi, the producer of the famous game series Yakuza.
“We are thrilled to embark on an exciting new stage of growth with Quantic Dream, bound by our shared vision, mutual trust and respect,” said NetEase CEO and director William Ding in a press release. “NetEase will continue to fulfill our promise to support Quantic Dream to realize its full potential. By combining the wild creativity and exceptional narrative focus of Quantic Dream with NetEase’s powerful facilities, resources and execution capabilities, we believe there are infinite possibilities that could redefine the interactive entertainment experience we provide for players worldwide.”
Source: Quantic Dream