Some details here: basically, Tencent is offering to buy out Funcom stockholders at a decent price above current closing. For those following at home, Tencent is the Chinese tech megacorp with a dubious history involving software piracy that isn’t being specifically targeted as a notorious national security risk by the US government. But I suspect that I’m being rude by pointing out that particular distinction.
So, what does that mean for The Secret World MMO? …Probably nothing, dammit. Unless they decide that they need to bring back the Chinese PvP map again. That’d be nice.
Piracy isn’t what I hear complaints about. Instead, it’s the company’s lack of customer privacy protections. And that they own Riot (League of Legends) and a 40 percent stake in Epic, which has gotten too aggressive in recruiting games for its on-line sales portal.
A Funcom purchase is a bit of a surprise. I like their games, generally. But the company’s made no secret of the fact that its games don’t do as well as one would hope.
Is this the same Tencent studio that has invested heavily in Hollywood to the point of censoring any content that offends “Chinese[Commie bastard edition] sensibilities”?
The same, yes. I haven’t heard anything about espionage from them, but as you say, they certainly seem to qualify as an agent of influence.