Tencent’s Steven Ma: Why big acquisitions will be good for gamers

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Tencent is the biggest game company in the world, and that is saying a lot considering rivals such as Microsoft, Sony, and Embracer Group have been acquiring so many game companies in an effort to become much bigger and more competitive.

Steven Ma, senior vice president of Tencent, has a global view of the game industry and he can explain why we’re seeing so many changes, like Take-Two’s acquisition of Zynga and Microsoft’s planned purchase of Activision Blizzard. Tencent has a global view because it owns stakes in companies such as Riot Games, Ubisoft, Activision Blizzard, Supercell, Dontnod Entertainment, and Bloober.

Tencent wants to deliver high-quality games, and those titles take $100 million to $300 million or more to make now. And smaller game studios need financial backing to make such games. It’s happening with mobile games too as triple-A quality comes to mobile. That’s why the acquisitions are happening, as it puts the necessary capital behind the games the studios are making. And it’s why this consolidation can be good for gamers, said Ma.

Ma noted that Tencent has moved more to the global stage of games since the last time we talked in 2019. Last year, 26% of Tencent’s revenues came from outside of China. That will accelerate in the future, and it’s why Ma is spending about 60% of his time looking outside of China. What’s he looking for? New innovations in gameplay, new game genres, and the kind of exciting games that will get gamers excited and drive the industry forward.

Tencent recently acquired Turtle Rock, maker of the Back 4 Blood and Left 4 Dead games, and it has opened new triple-A game studios in