Life Is Strange Dev Dontnod to Create New IP After Tencent Buys Minority Stake

Tencent has purchased a minority stake in Life Is Strange developer, Dontnod, to create new IP. This minority purchase cost Tencent €30 million, or roughly $36 million, and will be used to finance a new IP from Dontnod for PC, consoles, and mobile devices. The funding will also be used to allow Dontnod to self-publish whatever this new IP becomes.

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"The funds raised will mainly be used to finance the ramp-up of Dontnod's strategy to develop new self-published intellectual properties worldwide on PC, consoles, and mobile platforms, and thereby take full advantage of positive trends within the industry for creators of internationally renowned and originals games, such as Dontnod," a Dontnod press release reads. In terms of what this new IP will be, it's anybody's guess, although one could presume it to be in the style of games Dontnod has continued to make over the years, such as Life Is Strange, Tell Me Why, and Twin Mirror. These are third-person narrative-based games that see the player making choices that affect the outcome of stories and solving small puzzles along the way. Tencent's purchase is part of a total €40 million capital increase that comes by way of an accelerated bookbinding process, according to Dontnod. The studio also announced a, "concurrent signing of a business cooperation agreement with Tencent" as well. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/12/01/twin-mirror-review"] "We are delighted to welcome Tencent as a Dontnod investor," Chairman and CEO of Dontnod, Oskar Guilbert, said. "This is a real expression of trust from a key online game leader, which is behind a number of success stories and has invested in several leading companies in the video game industry. Through this partnership, Dontnod is perfectly positioned to take advantage of the various growth drivers in the video game industry, in particular in China and on mobile platforms, in cooperation with an industry leader. The capital increase announced today will enable us to step up and boost the roll-out of our development plan, which aims to capture more value from our original creators by self-publishing more games." While waiting for whatever this new IP is, check out our thoughts on Dontnod's latest two games in IGN's Tell Me Why review and Twin Mirror review. Read this story about a new narrative survival game being developed by the new studio of a Dontnod co-founder after that. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Wesley LeBlanc is a freelance news writer and guide maker for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @LeBlancWes. 

source https://www.ign.com/articles/life-is-strange-dev-dontnod-to-create-new-ip-after-tencent-buys-minority-stake