Quantic Dream has Been Acquired by NetEase Games for 100 Million Euros

It’s been revealed recently that Quantic Dream has been acquired by Chinese game publisher NetEase. This puts the company behind games Detroit: Become Human,  Beyond: Two Souls, and Heavy Rain in a position where it’s the first European studio to become a subsidiary of NetEase. This will also represent the first step for NetEase’s global plans.

Earlier today, Insider Gaming has discovered new information regarding this purchase. According to their sources, NetEase purchased Quantic Dream for around 100 million Euros. In addition, sources also revealed that David Cage, the Founder and CEO, held a 51% stake in Quantic Dream with family members, meaning his payout was likely in the realm of 50 million euros.

In August of last year, VentureBeat talked to Quantic Dream regarding the reasons behind the acquisition. The company (through several statements by both NetEase and Quantic staff) mentioned that the deal exists to help accelerate the vision of the company and to create new titles. This is further corroborated by Insider Gaming’s sources, who stated that Quantic Dream has been struggling with developing its Star Wars game, Star Wars Eclipse.

NetEase has steadily increased its investments in triple-A game making, between the $100 million invested in Bungie, the strategic investment in Behaviour Interactive, and the opening of new studios such as Nagoshi’s and the Seattle-based Jar of Sparks, not to mention the acquisition of Suda’s Grasshopper Manufacture.

An acquisition like this seems to just be another step forward for this recent investment. But it certainly puts things into perspective regarding the troubled development of Star Wars Eclipse, a game that hasn’t received much information since its original reveal. According to the sources, the 100 million Euros was said to be “easily calculable” because of the PACTE law.

In addition to the aforementioned Star Wars project, Quantic Dream is also publishing Parallel Studio’s narrative adventure game Under The Waves. We will keep an eye out for any developments regarding this story, so make sure to stay tuned.