Tencent buys “Back 4 Blood” developer – Was the game a flop?

The developer behind Back 4 Blood has been bought up. Turtle Rocck Studios is now part of Tencent – did the game fail?

Back 4 Blood was only released a few months ago, and the latest patch was only 2 days ago. But now there was big news. The developer behind Back 4 Blood has been sold. Is that a sign the game was flopped? Or is it exactly the opposite?

What happened? Turtle Rock Studios, the developers behind Back 4 Blood, but earlier also Evolve or the original Left 4 Dead, were bought by the Chinese company Tencent.

What does the developer say about it? Turtle Rock Studios made a statement on the after the deal own homepage published – and that paints a much more positive picture than some in the community fear. Accordingly, the superordinate company Slamfire was bought by Tencent.

By joining the Tencent family, we not only gain access to their extensive resources and knowledge, but we also have a partner who encourages us to be ambitious and visionary. Even if our company is bought, we will remain independent and will continue to be run by our co-founders Phil Robb and Chris Ashton.

Turtle Rock Studios also explains that 2021 was a special year – the launch of Back 4 Blood and now the partnership with Tencent. It says:

We are expanding our team to support Back 4 Blood and create new, exciting multiplayer experiences. We will continue to transparently communicate via our Trello board what we are working on and expanding what makes Back 4 Blood so special. In addition to that, we can do something we’ve never done before: turn a universe we’ve created into a long-term AAA franchise. We can now guarantee that the “Back 4 Blood” franchise is here to stay and will continue to develop in the future.

Community is concerned: Im Subreddit from Back 4 Blood the message is received with mixed feelings. Many fear that Back 4 Blood might have flopped and that it was a good time for Tencent to buy the studio. Some also worry that the game will be flooded with micro-transactions in the near future.

It remains to be seen, of course, whether it all turns out to be as positive as Turtle Rock describes in its own statement. The concerns of the fans seem – at least according to the current status – rather unfounded. Tencent is known for buying studios, but usually only interferes when there are really bad problems.

What do you think of this message? A good thing for Turtle Rock Studios? Or a clear sign that Back 4 Blood has flopped?