Tencent announced on Friday that they had acquired Turtle Rock Studios, the studio behind the recently released and well-received Back 4 Blood, as well as the original developer of the iconic Left 4 Dead series.
With the acquisition, Turtle Rock will become a part of Tencent, while still “retaining its independent operations” in California, according to the announcement. Phil Robb and Chris Ashton, co-founders of the studio, will still remain on board, and the acquisition will have no effects on the future development and maintenance of Back 4 Blood.
“We are all looking forward to joining the Tencent family of studios,” said Steve Goldstein, president and general manager of Turtle Rock Studios. “Tencent’s outstanding partners, global reach, deep knowledge of gaming and unprecedented support will help us create the kinds of ambitious games we dream of, while allowing us to retain our autonomy and independent spirit.”
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Turtle Rock Studios began its developing career working on titles like Counter-Strike: Condition Zero and Counter-Strike: Source, before being tasked with developing Left 4 Dead in 2004. Following its massive success, the studio would create more content for the game and its sequel, Left 4 Dead 2, before splitting with Valve. The studio has since released a handful of games, including the controversial and ill-fated Evolve and, most recently, Back 4 Blood.
