Tencent negotiates sale of minority game studio stakes

Chinese technology conglomerate Tencent Holdings is in negotiations to sell off several of its minority investments in video game studios, including Tokyo-listed developer Marvelous Inc., as part of a strategic reassessment of its global portfolio. The discussions, reported on Tuesday, June 23, 2026, indicate a shift for the world's largest games company by revenue, which spent years assembling a wide array of international studio stakes.

According to sources familiar with the matter, Tencent is preparing to sell certain holdings back to the studios' original management teams and is willing to accept a loss in some cases to facilitate a clean exit. This move represents an unusual step for the investor, which is better known for accumulating positions. The company is scrutinizing holdings where anticipated strategic synergies may no longer exist and is steering capital toward areas it expects to grow faster.

Marvelous, the publisher behind the Story of Seasons and Senran Kagura franchises, is the only studio publicly named in the reports. Tencent acquired a 20% stake in Marvelous around 2020 during a wave of investment in Japanese developers. That investment push was partly a...