Tencent breaks down its approach to IP development
In a rather timely interview, Chinese conglomerate Tencent explains how it’s working to cultivate ‘evergreen’ franchises.
Between Tencent inviting Game Developer to meet with its VP of business operations, Yong-yi Zhu, at Gamescom 2025 and the moment we actually sat down for our interview on the show floor, the Chinese conglomerate was accused of cloning PlayStation's popular Horizon franchise in a scathing lawsuit filed by Sony. Somewhat coincidentally, Tencent had actually reached out to see whether we be interested in discussing how the company is attempting to create original franchises with global appeal.
It was a compelling pitch. Tencent, after all, has acquired and invested in a litany of major studios such as Riot Games, Supercell, Frontier Developments, Paradox Interactive, Ubisoft, Epic Games, Remedy Entertainment, and more—but the company is evidently keen to start producing more widely recognized titles in-house.
The company's Tencent Games division, which shelters its publishing arm and internal studios, debuted a number of original projects at Gamescom itself including Delta Force, Fate Trigger, Honor of Kings: World, and Project Spectrum. Tencent hopes those titles and others will coalesce to create an original catalog that allows its internal teams to work on projects they're furiously passionate about while catering to different player communities around the world.
It's an approach that sounds solid on paper, but how is Tencent actively working to turn that vision into reality—and, perhaps more pertinently in the wake of Sony's lawsuit, ensure its original franchises actually innovate?
Tencent exec says internal studios don't harbor ambitions of creating"derivative" titles
According to Zhu, who oversees operations, strategy, and compliance across Tencent's global portfolio of studios, Tencent believes it is vital to match developers to projects they actually care about. "I think one of the things we look at a lot is, not just the IP itself, but more the talent within the studio," explains Zhu. "For us we ask 'what are they able to do and what are they passionate about?' One of the big things we look to do is make sure the studio and the scope and ambition of the project fits within he context of what [the team] is able to do.
"Take studios like Sharkmob with Exoborne. It's a relatively newly-formed studio, but they have launched a game previously and so for us the ambition is quite big. Also, we believe the market is there for the taking—and they are passionate about making first-person shooters."
Passion, of course, is probably the one resource that remains abundant within the game industry. In an era of studio closures, financing woes, and widespread layoffs, converting passion into a tangible products that can deliver sustainable returns remains a huge challenge. To minimize the inherent risk that comes with making video games in 2025, Zhu explains Tencent has adopted a data-driven approach that attempts to break down market trends and player expectations.
"We support [our teams] with data," he continues, explaining that Tencent pulls information from a "bunch of different places" including video game data platform Newzoo. "We consolidate all of that and then we internally have data scientists that work with us to do some predictive modelling to provide an understanding of where the market and trends are. We also have a group within Tencent that looks at game research. They are experts on games. They look at trends and what people are interested in. So, there's the game part, the data part, and then the audience part that we're building in as well—which is 'how do we engage with player bases earlier on to test an idea?'"
Zhu says connecting with audiences prematurely, however, can be "dangerous." Especially when a studio is trying to create something new. It might be safe to bring players into the loop early if you're looking to make inroads into an established genre or market, but if a studio is eager to stray from the well-trodden path that feedback might become less valuable.
On that note, we ask Zhu how Tencent distinguishes between inspiration and imitation? We acknowledge Tencent can't comment on Sony's ongoing lawsuit, but feel its important to understand how the company is working to marry its data-driven approach to franchise developments with its desire to create truly original titles that resonate.
"I think most of the developers that we work with are confident in their abilities," says Zhu in response. "They are always looking to create something new and different. Their first thoughts are not 'what is derivative?' In fact, I think some of the research that we give them covers […] features or UI that are a bit more technical or specific, versus IP itself. I don't think we, and a lot of the studios that I work with personally, have that ambition of 'we want to create a derivative IP from something else.'"
Tencent believes mitigating risk is about "matching the pitch to the market"
Taking big swings also requires financial risk. Tencent evidently has plenty in the coffers, but Zhu explains the conglomerate is strict about moderating its investment level to ensure those risks feel sustainable. "When there are big challenges and unknowns on a project, we control our investment level. We answer all of the [pressing] questions first before going big," he continues, noting how Tencent works to garner a deep understanding of gameplay elements, narrative beats, and the potential for fun (which feels like the big one) before pulling the trigger.
Zhu feels risk mitigation is also about "matching the pitch to the market." Certain genres, he explains, are always going to be more risky. "If you look at an open-world game, the investment into that before you even get to a minute of gameplay is going to be much bigger than if you were to look at a PvP shooter where you can quickly iterate," he adds. "The bar for investing into different types of games is going to be different, and the number of games we greenlight in certain genres versus others is going to be proportional to the risk level."
Those projects that do make it through the production slalom at Tencent are expected to deliver. Zhu explains the ultimate goal is "evergreen" growth, and while that phrase will undoubtedly mean different things depending on the size and scale of individual titles, the company's aim is to cultivate franchises capable of matching its own long-term vision.
"When you talk about growth […] I think our ultimate goal is evergreen, right? You look at League of Legends, you look at PUBG Mobile, you look at even Fortnite. These are long-sustaining products that are always in the ecosystem," he says. "That doesn't mean it will limit growth, though, because that creates opportunities to build out other things. Look at League of Legends and how its gone into Arcane and other genres. I think that's one example, and we're definitely look to do the same thing."
As for the projects that fail to reach those heights, Zhu claims any cancellation is the result of a thorough vetting process as opposed to knee-jerk reactions. "We take our time [when making those calls]. It's years. It depends on the game, depends on the team, and depends on the genre—but ultimately we give the teams the opportunity to go back out to the player base and test again, and repeatedly do that, to understand how we are course correcting towards that north star.
"Some ideas you know early on. You're like 'this doesn't make sense' and you probably have to kill that idea and move onto the next one. That doesn't mean that dev teams don't have a ton of other things in the pipeline. Other games, you do have to make tough decisions because, even with games in development, because you feel they'll maybe never reach the level of ambition that we have. But for the most part we greenlight games because we truly believe in those teams."
Game Developer attended Gamescom 2025 via the Gamescom Media Ambassador Program, which covered flights and accommodation.