The Wall Street Journal are reporting that sources close to the situation have told them Tencent, who while they aren’t front-and-centre in PC games are the driving force behind chinese distribution of a massive number of titles, may pick up mobile all-stars Supercell. They’re the folks behind the insane success of Clash of Clans and its competitive-focused spinoff Clash Royale.
Experience Tencent’s other good work with the best League of Legends champions for beginners.
In an article posted today on their website, WSJ say the deal would value Supercell at $9 billion and take place over several stages, with other partners helping with the buyout from SoftBank, a Japanese telecommunications business. It should be officially announced soon.
It would set Tencent up as one of the most influential gaming companies in the world, and likely the largest by revenue. Based on recent data, League of Legends is the largest PC game in the world by a significant margin, while Supercell run the largest mobile game. Imagine if Valve also owned not only League and Overwatch, but the Halo franchise and Uncharted as well. That’s the sort of size we’re talking.