In financial reports from the company, Epic Games has revealed that the (as reported) "minority" investment made last June in the company by Chinese telecom Tencent totaled $330 million for a grand 40% stake in the maker of the Unreal Engine.
When the deal was originally made, Tencent put two of its own on the Epic board of directors, but the amount of money exchanging hands remained indisclosed. Speaking with Polygon, Epic founder Tim Sweeney said that the company is "thrilled to have a world-leading partner in Tencent, who gives Epic unique access to the Chinese market as we head into the next chapter of our 21-year history as a leading independant developer."
40% ownership is quite the stake though! How independent do you stay when nearly half of your building is owned by a foreign company? After the deal close in June, Rod Fergusson left Epic in August for Irrational Games, Cliff Bleszinski in October, and Mike Capps in December. Seems pretty clear why now, doesn't it?
I'm just saying if I shared a house with a Chinese company and they were like "Dude, 40% of this house is mine," I'd probably leave and screw them over on the rent too.
