Exclusive | Tencent’s new game development studio in Singapore to boost city state’s role as gaming hub
- In a first for Tencent, its TiMi Studio Group, developer of Call of Duty Mobile, is setting up new game development studio in Singapore
- Separately, Tencent’s signature subsidiary Riot Games has moved much of its Hong Kong development team to Singapore over the past two years
Tencent Holdings, the world’s largest video gaming company by revenue, will open its next game development studio in Singapore, which has emerged as a regional hub for game development after investments from industry giants including Ubisoft and Riot Games, according to two people with knowledge of the matter.
TiMi Studio Group, the developer behind Tencent’s biggest hits such as Honour of Kings and Call of Duty: Mobile, is setting up a new studio in Singapore, according to the people, who declined to be identified because they are not authorised to speak to the media.
It will be Tencent’s first studio in the city state and TiMi’s fourth overseas studio behind Los Angeles, Seattle and Montreal. Until now, Tencent has only had its employees in Singapore work on existing games.
Singapore, which attracts high-paying jobs with its low taxes and warm weather, is shaping up to be a regional hub for international video gaming giants.
Over the past two years, Tencent’s signature subsidiary Riot Games, the developer behind hit game League of Legends, has moved much of its Hong Kong team to Singapore, while French gaming giant Ubisoft has been building up Ubisoft Singapore, which contributed greatly to the company’s latest hit Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla.
