Whether you follow Funcom for its old-school MMORPGs like Anarchy Online and Secret World Legends, its survival sandbox Conan Exiles, or its up coming Dune franchise titles, you’ll be intrigued to know that Funcom and Tencent announced this morning that the Chinese company has acquired 29% of the Norwegian studio’s stock shares.

“Tencent, a leading Internet company with a strong online games operation, entered into a share purchase agreement to acquire 29% of the shares in Funcom, the independent developer and publisher of games such as Conan Exiles, The Secret World, and Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden. The acquisition makes Tencent the largest shareholder in Funcom. Funcom is listed as Funcom SE on the Oslo Stock Exchange (OSE: Funcom). Tencent has agreed to acquire all shares belonging to the Norway-based KGJ Capital AS, which is currently the largest shareholder in Funcom.”

“Tencent has a reputation for being a responsible long-term investor, and for its renowned operational capabilities in online games,” Funcom CEO Rui Casais says in the announcement. “The insight, experience, and knowledge that Tencent will bring is of great value to us and we look forward to working closely with them as we continue to develop great games and build a successful future for Funcom.”

Notably, the PR does mention the DUNE IP multiple times and suggests that the first game, the open-world sandbox, is “working closely with Legendary Entertainment who will be releasing a new DUNE feature film in December 2020 directed by Denis Villeneuve.”

Tencent, of course, is well known for its stake in multiple other studios we cover ’round here, including Grinding Gear, Riot, Frontier, and Epic.

Source: Press release