Spec Ops: The Line Developer Receives Investment From Chinese Tech Company Tencent

Spec Ops: The Line developer Yager has received investment from Chinese multinational Tencent. The gaming monolith has invested an undisclosed sum in the Berlin-based developer, but Yager will still retain its independence.

The money will be used to fund Yager's publishing ambitions and the continued development of its free-to-play shooter, The Cycle--currently in its second season. The game, which Yager describes as a competitive quest shooter, is exclusively available on the Epic Games Store and adds a unique spin to the battle royale genre.

Yager is, of course, most widely recognised for developing Spec Ops: The Line, which released to critical acclaim back in 2012. The subversive military shooter is one of the more memorable games of the past 10 years, but was also a commercial flop, with publisher Take-Two saying it failed to meet sales expectations.

Since then, Yager has moved away from narrative-driven single-player games and shifted into developing live service games such as The Cycle and 2017 space combat sim Dreadnought.

Tencent, meanwhile, invests in or owns an ever-growing portfolio of game developers and publishers, including Activision Blizzard, Epic Games, Riot Games, Platinum Games, and Ubisoft.

"Tencent is not only the world’s leading games company but also a prolific investor with a stellar track record: We're humbled to join the line-up of Tencent partners which reads like a games industry Who's Who," said Timo Ullmann, CEO of Yager.

"We're confident that this will greatly enhance the scope of our business, not just by getting access to Tencent's network and resources but by tapping the vast industry know-how Tencent possesses."