Bayonettaseries andNier: Automatadeveloper PlatinumGames announced Tuesday that it would be partnering up with Chinese gaming conglomerate Tencent in an investment deal. The Japanese studio, known for its work onMetal Gear Rising: Revengeanceand other cult favorite action titles likeVanquish, will remain an independent developer but will look into self-publishing their titles as a result of the deal, according to president Kenichi Sato.
Fans hoping for less platform exclusive projects from Platinum may find a move toward self-publishing welcome for the studio.Platinum’s last big release,Astral Chain, released on the Switch last year, and while it was well-reviewed, the studio hasn’t always been successful in finding reliable publishing partners for its work.Bayonetta 2became a Wii U and Switch-only title after Platinum’s original deal with Sega fell through, and the developer’s ambitious, dragon-riding action RPGScaleboundwas set to be an Xbox One exclusive until it was canceled in 2017.
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Platinum was formed in 2007 by some of the developers responsible for making games likeViewtiful Joe,Okami,andGod Handat Capcom, and since then the studio has built its own collection of beloved titles, chief among them being theDevil May Cry-inspiredBayonettafranchise. Fans know the studio well thanks to its distinctive, flashy house style, as well as theoutspoken opinions of co-founder Hideki Kamiya.
Tencent, meanwhile, is one of the largest video game companies on the planet. The company ownsLeague of Legendsdeveloper Riot Games entirely, has partial ownership stakes in bothFortniteandPlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds,anddevelopedCall of Duty Mobileas part of its ongoing partnership with Activision Blizzard, among other prominent projects.
Platinum isn’t the only prominent studio to embrace self-publishing after landing a large investment deal.Destiny2studio Bungiebrought the game’s continued operations in-house last year after linking up with Tencent’s rival NetEase, granting the studio greater control over its popular franchise. The deal likely won’t affect the studio’s announced projects; Square Enix is publishing the fantasy-themedBabylon’s Fall, while Nintendo is set to releaseBayonetta 3on the Switch. The studio’s leads say more information is on the way for those titles and others, and fans can expect updates throughout 2020.
