Summary
- Tencent bought 15.75% of Arrowhead Game Studios for $83 million.
- Arrowhead earned $100 million in 2024 with $76 million profit.
- The deal helps Arrowhead enter the huge Chinese gaming market.
Tencent Invests Big in Helldivers 2 Studio
A new report from Swedish website Dagens Industri has revealed that Tencent, the massive Chinese media company, quietly bought a 15.75% stake in Arrowhead Game Studios back in July 2024. This is the team behind the hugely successful game Helldivers 2. The deal cost Tencent about $83 million, and it now owns a small part of the studio.
Arrowhead was valued at around $532 million when the deal happened. In 2024, the studio made around $100 million in revenue and earned $76 million in operating profit. These are huge numbers for a game studio, thanks to the massive popularity of Helldivers 2.
Why Did Tencent Buy In Arrowhead?
Johan Pilestedt, the co-founder and Chief Creative Officer of Arrowhead, said the investment gives them access to the Chinese gaming market. He called it the “holy grail” of the gaming world because of how many gamers live there. With Tencent’s help, Arrowhead could reach millions of new players.
Helldivers 2 already has a big fan base in China. One mission in the game even featured a city based on China, and it sparked massive participation from Chinese players. The game’s popularity there makes this partnership even more exciting.
However, even with Tencent’s investment, Arrowhead confirmed that its next project will be completely self-funded. That means they’ll make all the decisions themselves, without any help from PlayStation this time. This independence gives them more freedom to create what they want.
Helldivers 2 is still going strong with regular updates, but it’s clear the studio is already planning what’s next. With Tencent’s support and more eyes on them than ever, Arrowhead’s future looks very bright.
