Platinum Games is a large third-party game developer that has worked with the likes of Nintendo and Square Enix to publish games like Bayonetta 2 and Nier: Automata that the company would normally not be able to finance on its own.
So in order to continue operating as an independent publisher, Platinum is always looking for sources of income outside of game revenue. Luckily, it just received a capital investment from the Chinese internet and media giant Tencent.
“We would like to announce we have received a capital investment from Tencent Holdings Limited as a basis for partnership,” Platinum CEO Kenichi Satosaid in a statement. “This partnership has no effect on the independence of our company, and we will continue operations under our current corporate structure.”
Platinum has been on a roll with releasing fantastic games in partnership with other companies. Astral Chain and Nier: Automata are both critically acclaimed games that have been released in the last few years, with Nier earning several Game of the Year nominations from various publications.
Platinum is already working on several big games that will be published by other companies, with Bayonetta 3 in production for the Nintendo Switch and Babylon’s Fall set to release at some point for the mainline consoles thanks to Square Enix.
But with this extra funding, Sato hopes that the company will be able to self-publish its own games more frequently without relying on outside help.
“We hope to use this capital to strengthen our foundation as a business and expand from game development into exploring self-publishing,” Sato said. “We also hope that this partnership can give us a wider global perspective, while still creating high-quality games that stay true to our name.”
With how Nier’s success essentially saved the company from closing down, it is clear that the company would like to control its main IPs again after so many years of being a different company publish for them. Once the current slate of games is out, Platinum will likely completely shift to independent publishing if nothing unexpected affects those plans.
