NetEase Acquires Heavy Rain Developer Quantic Dream

Chinese game company NetEase acquires Quantic Dream. The two companies announced this on Tuesday. NetEase has had a minority stake in the developer since 2019. Quantic Dream is best known for narrative games like Heavy Rain.

With the acquisition, Quantic Dream will become a subsidiary of NetEase. The studio will continue to operate independently. The company will continue to focus on developing and publishing games for all platforms after the acquisition, writes the studio in a press release. “We maintain our independence when it comes to our editorial approach, the artistic direction of our projects and the management of the studio.” The developer also continues to help create and publish games from other developers. It is not known what the Chinese company is paying for Quantic Dream.

NetEase is one of the world’s largest game companies. The company has grown mainly with free-to-play games in China, but is also increasingly targeting international markets. The company has had a minority interest in Quantic Dream since 2019 and is now taking over that studio completely. The company also previously invested in Destiny developer Bungie and acquired No More Heroes developer Grasshopper Manufacture in 2020. NetEase also set up studios in Japan and the US this year. Quantic Dream will be NetEase’s first European studio.

Quantic Dream was founded in 1997 in France. The studio focuses primarily on narrative games, with titles such as Fahrenheit, Heavy Rain, Beyond: Two Souls and Detroit: Become Human in its portfolio. The company is currently working on Star Wars Eclipse and will also release the games Dustborn and Under The Waves in the coming years. The studio has also been accused of ‘a toxic work culture’, but the company denies those stories. Company successfully sued a French newspaper because of libel.