Quantic Dream acquired by NetEase after rejecting recent acquisition offers

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The other offers couldn't necessarily guarantee "editorial independence"

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(Image credit: Quantic Dream)

Quantic Dream has been acquired by NetEase.

As announced earlier today on August 31, the Paris-based developer has officially been acquired by the Chinese gaming giant, making it the company's first studio based in Europe. Quantic Dream currently has over 250 employees and is headed up by David Cage and Guillaume de Fondaumière.

In an interview with Venture Beat, Cage said that the developer had received various acquisition offers over the 25 years since it was founded, but passed on all since they couldn't guarantee the studio's "editorial independence." Cage also revealed the studio had received "several offers meeting our expectations" in the "recent past."

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Quantic Dream has been criticized over the past few years for an alleged toxic workplace culture, which the studio has actually sued on the grounds of libel, winning one court case but losing another (as reported by GamesIndustry.biz). In new comments today to GamesIndustry.biz, de Fondaumière revealed that these allegations hadn't had an impact on the acquisition of Quantic Dream. 

Quantic Dream currently has two projects in development: Star Wars Eclipse and Under the Waves. The former is a brand new tale set in the High Republic era of the Star Wars universe, while the latter is a "poetic underwater adventure," revealed just this past week at the Future Games Show. A recent report claimed Eclipse would be delayed, which Quantic Dream hit back at on the grounds that it had never announced a release window in the first place. 

For the 25th anniversary of the studio, Cage spoke to Edge Magazine about David Bowie, controversies, and the elevation of story. 

Hirun Cryer
Hirun Cryer
Freelance Writer

Hirun Cryer is a freelance reporter and writer with Gamesradar+ based out of U.K. After earning a degree in American History specializing in journalism, cinema, literature, and history, he stepped into the games writing world, with a focus on shooters, indie games, and RPGs, and has since been the recipient of the MCV 30 Under 30 award for 2021. In his spare time he freelances with other outlets around the industry, practices Japanese, and enjoys contemporary manga and anime.