Tencent’s Timi will make new games with Xbox Game Studios | Engadget Leave a comment

Two of the biggest names in gaming are joining forces. Tencent subsidiary Timi and Xbox Game Studios have struck a “strategic partnership” that will see them jointly create new games, the companies said in an announcement today. Details of the venture are sparse, but it wouldn’t be surprising if it it involved a mobile spin on an Xbox franchise. 

China’s Timi — which reportedly became the world’s largest developer last year — is known for its work on mobile games including the upcoming Pokémon Unite (which is also slated for the Nintendo Switch), Call of Duty: Mobile and its ports of multiplayer online battle arena titles Honor Of Kings and Arena Of Valor. 

Microsoft’s Xbox Game Studios, meanwhile, owns a war chest of popular game series through its enviable roster of subsidiaries. Its recent $7.5 billion acquisition of Bethesda parent ZeniMax brought the total number of first-party studios under its umbrella to 23. While its eye-watering output includes franchises such as Halo, Minecraft, Fallout, Forza, and Wolfenstein, to name a few. So, the East-meets-West combination should be an exciting prospect for gamers worldwide.

Tencent is no stranger to foreign partnerships, either. The company’s deal to distribute the Nintendo Switch in its native China has proven lucrative for both parties, with the console outselling the PS4 and Xbox One. Microsoft will be hoping the Timi partnership can help it to replicate some of that success.