Note: Bohemia Interactive has taken to their forums to announce that news of their acquisition is false; we’re currently investigating the matter further.
Bad news for Arma fans, the lifelike military simulator that arguably has no equal when it comes to ballistic simulations. Tencent has just allegedly purchased a majority stake in the company Bohemia Interactive as the Chinese investment studio continues to invest in a controlling stake of a seemingly endless number of studios.
The announcement might come as a surprise from many fans of the studio that have continued to stand by the company that releases odd-ball DLCs in tandem with DLCs that offer a unique look at modern-day battlefields. Arma 3 is one of the most successful iterations of the franchise yet, and the studio captivates fans around the globe.
What this means for the studio, moving forward, likely isn’t too disastrous. Tencent will allow the Czech studio Bohemia Interactive to operate as they have in the past, and the buy-in will likely be used for additional content and development.
https://twitter.com/OperatorDrewski/status/1267942391685709831
Unfortunately, it will also mean that fans can expect censorship in the titles that may, or may not, be noticeable for quite a time. We could experience some fascinatingly red Propaganda when Arma 4 inevitably shows its head.
Any chance or expectation of engaging Chinese forces in the fictional series is now long-gone, as Tencent has a habit of ensuring that nothing from China is placed in a negative light.
Further, it’s likely that mods could be affected by this move. Requests for comments from both Tencent and Bohemia Interactive were not responded to.
In the small picture, this frankly doesn’t amount to much. The concern, however, is readily seen when viewed as the bigger picture that it is.
Tencent now owns large stakes in a vast number of studios around the world, ranging from Europe to Japan, which means that they have a controlling stake and final say.
History could very well be rewritten or white-washed by the investment studio with concerningly close ties to the Chinese Cyberspace Administration and the Chinese government as a whole, in much the same manner that has already occurred in mainland China. There is a precedent, and it will likely only continue to affect consumers and video games in the future as Tencent continues its controlling hold.
For now, however, life continues on. You can log into the beautiful (although demanding) Aarma 3 and push out on your sorties and patrols with reckless abandon. It’s just a shame that the time of freedom for the studio has come to an end, even if they themselves don’t realize it yet.
