According to financial records of Tencent, a Chinese Internet company, they have spent $330 million to acquire 40% of Epic Games.
In a recent statement to Polygon, founder of Epic Games, Tim Sweeney remarked, “In June 2012, Tencent made a minority investment in Epic Games, purchasing approximately 48.4 percent of outstanding shares of Epic stock, equating to 40 percent of total Epic capital inclusive of both stock and employee stock options”. He continued, “As part of the investment, two Tencent representatives joined Epic’s board of directors, in addition to the three directors and two observers appointed by Epic. We’re 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 independent developer.”
The deal came about last June and Tencent acquired part of Epic Games believing the developer to be a good match for them. As Tencent stated in their financial statement, “During 2012, we continued to selectively invest in companies where we see opportunities for long-term strategic benefits, notably businesses which can supply first-class products into our platforms, and businesses which we see as driving change in the Internet industry. For example, we purchased minority stakes in Epic Games, a US-based development team with a long history of creating popular games and a market-leading game development engine.”
After the move, a number of Epic Games employees left. They included three members of People Can Fly (developer of Bullet Storm), which itself was bought by Epic Games, Rod Fergusson, producer of Gears of War who later joined up with Irrational Games to develop for Bioshock Infinite as well as Mike Capps, former president of Epic Games. Capps originally stated he would take on a role as consultant but later announced he had no connection with the company.