Tencent is ramping things up in an attempt to fulfill its promise it made back in late 2019. After the company hired Kojima Productions founding member Kenichiro Imaizumi and Halo 4 lead designer Scott Warner, Tencent America — based in Palo Alto, California — is trying to act as a place to churn out blockbuster games and “court gamers in the West.”
In case you might have missed it, both this year and late last year, we reported on Tencent seeking to increase its presence in the U.S. by offering more console titles designed for American gamers.
One way Tencent proposed to appeal to U.S. goers in the games industry is to partner with a company with reach in American unlike before by using popular characters.
As of now, the company seems to have found another way to reach U.S. citizens, and that’s by hiring experienced devs like Imaizumi and Warner to work on triple-A games.
And on the topic of Imaizumi and Warner, a spokeswoman for Tencent notes how Imaizumi is now a production director for Tencent Games, while Warner heads the company’s marquee gaming studio TiMi Studios in North America — known for titles such as Call of Duty: Mobile and Honor of Kings.
As of recent, website scmp.com reports Vincent Gao — international business director of TiMi Studios — saying that the studio wanted to hire an American chief and set up an international base to “drive a broader effort to craft games for audiences beyond China.” You can read Gao’s agenda right here:
“Our goal in North America is to hire an experienced leader who will build a world class team to create new games for any platform.”
The website in question also touches on how the company’s official WeChat account last week sent out a message looking for people to work at Tencent America. The company needs to fill 13 game-related positions in the studio based in California. The website cites the WeChat message calling for five people who boast experience working on triple-A games and having at least five to ten years of experience under their belt.
If any new blockbuster games come out of Tencent America, expect one of them to launch around the “Year of the Dragon.” This means 2024 or 2025 could be a likely target window for a Tencent America triple-A game that’s not designed for mobile devices.
