Heavy Rain Developer Quantic Dream Acquired By NetEase

French video game developer Quantic Dream is an independent studio no more after being acquired by Chinese tech company NetEase.

Quantic has an impressive track record of game releases starting back in 1999 with Omikron: The Nomad Soul, which was followed by Fahrenheit, Heavy Rain, Beyond: Two Souls, and most recently Detroit: Become Human. The studio is currently developing Star Wars Eclipse(Opens in a new window) for Lucasfilm Games, but will now do so as part of NetEase Games.

NetEase became a minority shareholder in Quantic Dream back in 2019, but in a blog post(Opens in a new window) announcing the acquisition, Quantic explains how it now needs larger investments to continue developing its technology and infrastructure. NetEase can clearly provide such investment, but Quantic also points out, “we will retain our independence in terms of our editorial line, the artistic direction of our projects and the management of the studio.”

The NetEase Games division has made a number of key investments and partnerships with well-known game companies over the past few years. It partners with Blizzard Entertainment to release and run its games in China, has invested in Bungie, and acquired both Grasshopper Manufacture and GungHo Online Entertainment last year.

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