Chinese publisher NetEase makes an investment in Quantic Dream, effectively ending its PlayStation exclusivity.
One of the burning questions we’ve always had in the office about Quantic Dream was: Just exactly what manner of dirt does David Cage – real name David de Gruttola – have on PlayStation executives to make them keep funding his dreadful games?
(No, seriously, we’re not joking. Arthur Conan Doyle wrote, “Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth,” and blackmail always seemed more feasible than, you know, having faith in his games.)
From now on, though, that will no longer be an issue. Quantic Dream games are going multiplatform. What manner of magics and rituals have been performed to free the heads of PlayStation from their bonds?
Well, all it took was an unspecified amount of funding from Chinese publishing giant NetEase into de Gruttola’s studio, Quantic Dream.
In an interview with Variety and Venturebeat, Guillaume de Fondaumière – the yin to David de Gruttola’s yang – had this to say:
“Our objective is to be present on all platforms where there is an audience that can enjoy our experiences. We will, of course, continue developing on PlayStation, a platform that we know very well after having worked with Sony for 12 years, but we will also be present on all other relevant platforms.” – Guillaume de Fondaumière, executive producer, Quantic Dream
NetEase had the following to say about the arrangement:
“A company of our size and stature doesn’t make investments lightly, and we have of course taken great care in analysing all aspects of Quantic Dream, in particular, the studio culture. This is very important for us, as we take great care of these matters in our own company. We have been able to spend time with the Quantic Dream team, to get to know the studio culture, and we have seen nothing that points to any of the allegations published by certain press.” – Simon Zhu, general manager, investment and strategy, NetEase
The very fact they had to punctuate an investment announcement with that sort of caveat doesn’t scream positivity, but here we are. David de Gruttola’s games will, in future, be available on all platforms.
For better or worse.
