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Yes. On May 20, 2018, Grinding Gear Games (GGG), the New Zealand studio behind Path of Exile, announced that Tencent had acquired a majority stake. Tencent was already the game’s Chinese publisher. GGG said it would remain independently run and keep creative control, but a 2025 New Zealand–China Council report later traced Tencent’s reported ownership to 100%. That ownership history does not, by itself, show how much Tencent intervenes in current decisions.
What happened in 2018?
GGG announced the majority-stake sale on May 20, 2018. Tencent already published Path of Exile in China, and the deal made it a majority owner of the developer as well. Contemporary industry coverage said the fee was not disclosed; neither that coverage nor GGG’s announcement supplied a sale price. Game Developer reported the undisclosed fee on May 21, 2018.
What did GGG say Tencent’s stake would change?
In its May 20, 2018 announcement, GGG described the company as continuing to operate independently in New Zealand, with its founders still running it and financial reporting obligations to Tencent. The studio said: “We will remain an independent company and there won’t be any big changes to how we operate.” It also said: “We retain full control of Path of Exile and will only make changes that we feel are best for the game.” These were GGG’s statements about its intended arrangement at the time, not independent verification of the private deal’s terms or evidence of present-day decision-making.
How did GGG distinguish the Chinese and international versions?
GGG said Tencent could request experimental features for the Chinese version. The studio said it would consider bringing a feature to international servers if it judged it a good fit for both versions: “If those features turn out to be a really good fit for both versions, then we of course port them back into the international version.” GGG also said it was not planning to prioritize the Chinese version.
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On monetization, the company’s May 20, 2018 assurance was specific to international servers: “We will not make any changes to its monetisation on our international servers.” This records what GGG promised then; it should not be read as proof that no later business or product changes occurred.
What does the later ownership record say?
A 2025 report by the New Zealand–China Council describes Tencent’s equity stake as increasing over time:
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| Year or reporting point | Reported Tencent stake |
|---|---|
| 2018 | 80% |
| 2020 | 87% |
| 2022 | 93% |
| At the report’s publication | 100% |
The Council’s 2025 report is the source for this progression. It also infers an initial investment above NZ$100 million because approval from New Zealand’s Overseas Investment Office was required. That is an inference about the investment threshold, not a disclosed purchase price.
A shareholding percentage describes ownership, not necessarily the degree of day-to-day involvement in a studio’s product or operations. The Council’s report does not document current decision-making arrangements, and the ownership figures should be understood as the report’s account rather than a share-register audit.
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What can players verify today?
GGG’s current legal terms identify Grinding Gear Games Limited as the operator of Path of Exile and Path of Exile 2. They also say players receive a limited-use licence and do not own virtual items. Those terms describe the company’s relationship with players; they do not establish who owns GGG or how its corporate governance works. See GGG’s terms of use and privacy policy.
The available statements establish the 2018 announcement and GGG’s assurances at that time, while the Council’s later report records a reported progression to full ownership. They do not establish the exact consideration paid, current voting or governance arrangements, or how much operational or creative influence Tencent exercises now. The sources also do not provide a measurable statistic showing that the acquisition caused a gameplay change.
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