Chinese tech giant NetEase acquires Quantic Dream, a Star Wars game manufacturer

NetEase announced Wednesday it had purchased a French games designer as part of its aggressive international expansion.

Quantic Dream, a Hangzhou, China-based firm, was established as Europe’s first fully owned gaming studio.

NetEase, Tencent and their rivals have increased their efforts abroad as the Chinese games market slows due to tighter regulation.

Tencent has been an active investor and acquirer of overseas gaming companies over the years. NetEase has caught up.

NetEase opened gaming studios in Japan, the U.S. and Japan this year.

NetEase’s focus has been on mobile and PC gaming, which are extremely popular in China. More than half of NetEase’s global gaming revenues are generated by mobile gaming. However, the tech giant is expanding its reach into console gaming.

Quantic Dream is a 25-year old studio that will “focus on creating and publishing its games on all platforms as well supporting and publishing third party developed titles,” according a press release.

This highlights NetEase’s desire to expand across PC, mobile and consoles.

NetEase is committed to acquiring international franchises and characters. The acquisition of Quantic Dragon fits in with its strategy. Quantic Dream is currently creating a Star Wars Eclipse game. Based on Disney’s space adventures movies. NetEase already has mobile games that are based on Harry Potter and the Lord of the Rings.

NetEase is expanding internationally as China’s regulators continue to examine the game market. But there are signs that things may be improving. Authorities restricted online gaming for children under 18 years of age and stopped new titles from being approved. China’s regulators must give the green light for games to be published and monetized. In April, those approvals were renewed.

Hu Zhipeng, Vice President at NetEase, and one of the most powerful bosses in the technology giant’s video gaming business, stated that he hopes to have half of NetEase’s gaming revenue from overseas by the end of next year. This is an increase from the current 10%.

The global games market is experiencing intense competition.

Sony, the leader in console gaming and the producer of the PlayStation, announced Tuesday that it will create a mobile division. This will place it in direct competition with Chinese giants Tencent, NetEase, and others.