Visual Arts announced Tencent bought the company. It stated that the acquisition will allow it greater global reach due to Tencent’s size and presence in many countries around the world. The Japanese publisher is best known for their work with Key, the developers of visual novels such as Air and Clannad. One of its more recent releases is the Switch port of Kanon, which released in April 2023 in Japan. Loopers, also from Key, appeared worldwide as well.
Tencent’s acquisition comes at the same time as a management shake-up at the top of Visual Arts. CEO Takahiro Baba is stepping down from his position. Baba’s departure saw him transferring his shares in the company to Tencent, giving them a controlling stake. He is set to be replaced by Genki Tenkumo, who worked as writer, producer and director on several of the company’s projects.
Visual Arts is the latest of Tencent’s many acquisitions and share purchases in the last few years. Most recently, Tencent purchased a controlling stake in Dying Light developer Techland. It previously acquired Riot Games (League of Legends), Sumo Group (Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing), and Turtle Rock Studios (Back 4 Blood). Tencent also holds minor stakes in Ubisoft, Epic Games, Marvelous and FromSoftware.
