Chinese tech conglomerate Tencent has bought a minority stake in Playtonic, the Derby-based developer behind Yooka-Laylee.
Playtonic has not disclosed how much of the company it had sold, but confirmed it still retained ownership of its IP.
The money will be spent on scaling up the business from its current single-team structure to multiple teams, hiring diverse talent, improving its office and exploring an expansion to other locations, Playtonic said.
Let’s be Playtonic Friends Watch on YouTube
There’s an update too on Playtonic Friends, the developer’s indie game publishing program which it launched back in February. Its first title, Demon Turf, arrived in March.
A new head of publishing has been hired – Danny Spiteri, formerly of Raw Fury and Team 17 – to allow the initiative’s “ship to be steadied and captained to new ports” and “free up” studio head Gavin Price and executive producer Andy Wilson to focus fully on development again.