According to GamesIndustry, Gavin Raeburn, co-founder of Playground Games and former creator of “Extreme Racing: Horizon,” announced in March this year that he was setting up a new game studio in the U.K. called Lighthouse Games, which recently said it had received investment from Tencent. The exact amount was not disclosed.
Raeburn said that while it has received investment from Tencent, Lighthouse Games will still have full control over its game creation and distribution decisions and that the funds will be used to invest in new technology and recruit talent.
Raeburn said, “This investment is financial in nature, and we retain control over the game and the fate of the studio while we look forward to building a strong relationship with Tencent.” He added that the studio was approached by a number of companies to learn more about its plans, but in the end Tencent “offered us a deal that really fit our vision.”
He added: “An investment of this size allows us to grow our team, prove our vision for the game and remain fully independent while still leveraging the technology and experience of one of the world’s largest game publishers. This new start also allows us to build our game from the ground up without having to address legacy technical or architectural issues.”
Raeburn concluded, “The shackles have been lifted and it feels like we’re truly free.”
Lighthouse Games is comprised of 30 experienced and veteran game developers and is currently working on a 3A game on an original IP, but no specific information has been announced about that IP.
