Tencent invests in the capital of Studio Eleventh Hour Games (Last Epoch)

In April 2018, the independent studio Eleventh Hour Games lifted more than $ 250,000 as part of a participatory funding campaign on Kickstarter to realize the development of its hack & slash * Last Epoch * . The game quickly revealed in a playable demo, and then received early access launched in April 2019 for an exit which was then scheduled for the following year. The launching dates of the independent studios are nevertheless a little random and the release of Last Epoch is still waiting, after being postponed many times - the game is now officially expected this year.

In this context, Eleventh Hour Games today announces a minority participation of the Chinese giant Tencent in its capital. The developer does not specify the amount of the investment, nor the level participation of the investor, but promises that the operation will ultimately ensure "the stability of development" at Last Epoch and the release of its version 1.0 - the Fund will finance the material of the development team and the server infrastructures, the recruitment of new employees and subcontractors, the promotion of version 1.0 of the game and more generally the growth of the studio.

If one can undoubtedly welcome this fundraising for Eleventh Hour Games and Last Epoch, some players are more dubious. Since its creation, Eleventh Hour Games boasts its "independent" developer philosophy, animated by "enthusiasts", that some judge not compatible with the investment of a colossus of the game industry - and incidentally of Chinese origin, at a time when the nationality of the studios becomes a criterion of acceptability. The Judd Cover Game Director therefore emphasizes (in bold in the announcement) that the management of Eleventh Hour Games will remain independent, whether on an administrative or in terms of direction of the development or operation of Last Epoch, or that the personal data of the players are not intended to be transmitted to the new investor. And obviously, after more than 18 months of fundraising by the young studio, Tencent was the only investor to accept these conditions - we know the little interventionist giant, at least the financial results follow. The future will say if the choice was, or not, the most judicious.