Our answer
More than you think 中资游戏
Tencent owns or holds stakes in many Western studios; several global hits are made in China
The short answer
Riot Games (League of Legends, Valorant) is fully owned by China’s Tencent. Tencent also bought about 40% of Epic Games (Fortnite) in 2012, leads the consortium that controls Supercell (Clash of Clans) and owns most of Grinding Gear Games (Path of Exile). Genshin Impact, Marvel Rivals and Mobile Legends are made by Chinese companies.
| Riot Games | 100% Tencent (majority 2011, the rest 2015) |
|---|---|
| Epic Games | About 40% Tencent since 2012; minority, no control |
| Supercell | Tencent-led consortium bought 81.4% in 2016 |
| Grinding Gear Games | About 80% Tencent since 2018 |
| Made in China | Genshin Impact, Honkai: Star Rail, Marvel Rivals, Mobile Legends, Whiteout Survival |
| Biggest buyer | Tencent (腾讯), Shenzhen |
Western studios owned by, or part-owned by, Chinese companies
Ownership as last reported. A majority stake means control; a minority stake usually means a board seat and a share of profits, not control of the games.[1][2][3][4][5][6]
| Company | Best-known games | Chinese owner | Stake | Since |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Riot Games (Los Angeles) | League of Legends, Valorant, Teamfight Tactics | Tencent | 100%: about 93% before buying the rest | 2011 (majority), 2015 (full) |
| Epic Games (North Carolina) | Fortnite, Unreal Engine, Epic Games Store | Tencent | About 40%, for $330 million | 2012 |
| Supercell (Helsinki) | Clash of Clans, Clash Royale, Brawl Stars | Tencent-led consortium | Consortium bought 81.4%; Tencent holds 51.2% of the consortium (2019) | 2016 |
| Grinding Gear Games (Auckland) | Path of Exile | Tencent | About 80% (majority) | 2018 |
| Vantage Studios (Ubisoft subsidiary) | Assassin’s Creed, Far Cry, Rainbow Six | Tencent | 26.32% economic interest for €1.16 billion; Ubisoft keeps control | 2025 |
Global hits made by Chinese companies
These games are developed in China or by Chinese-founded companies, even when they are published abroad under an international brand.[7][8][9][10][11]
| Game | Company | Based in | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Genshin Impact, Honkai: Star Rail, Zenless Zone Zero | miHoYo (HoYoverse abroad) | Shanghai | HoYoverse is miHoYo’s international brand since 2022, run by Cognosphere in Singapore |
| Marvel Rivals | NetEase Games, with Marvel Games | China | Licensed Marvel heroes, developed by NetEase |
| Mobile Legends: Bang Bang | Moonton | Shanghai | Owned by ByteDance since 2021; came to mainland China only in January 2025 |
| Whiteout Survival | Century Huatong | Shanghai | Chinese-listed; in China the game is called 无尽冬日 |
| Honor of Kings, Peacekeeper Elite, Delta Force | Tencent | Shenzhen | China’s top-grossing mobile games; see our weekly chart |
Does Chinese ownership change the games?
Mostly not, by design. Tencent’s usual model is to buy a stake and leave the studio alone: Supercell keeps its Helsinki headquarters and its own team, and Grinding Gear Games said after Tencent’s 2018 deal that it would remain an independent company and change nothing about how it worked. Ubisoft keeps exclusive control of Vantage Studios despite Tencent’s 26% interest.
Where Chinese ownership matters most is in China itself, where owners and partners often publish the games: on the App Store in China, Clash of Clans, Clash Royale and Brawl Stars are listed under Tencent, and Minecraft and Sky: Children of the Light under NetEase. Some games also arrive in China as separate local editions with their own Chinese names.
For what Chinese players are actually playing this week, see our weekly App Store China game chart; for the bigger picture, the most popular games in China.[3][5][6][11]
Questions readers ask
Who owns Epic Games?
China’s Tencent owns a large minority stake. It bought about 40% of Epic Games in 2012 for $330 million, which gave it the right to nominate directors to Epic’s board, but not control of the company.
Who owns Riot Games? Is Riot Chinese?
Riot Games is an American studio based in Los Angeles, but it has been wholly owned by China’s Tencent since 2015. Tencent bought a majority stake in 2011 and held about 93% before buying the remaining shares in December 2015.
Who owns Supercell?
In 2016 a consortium set up by Tencent bought 81.4% of Supercell from SoftBank, valuing the Finnish company at about $10.2 billion; employees hold the rest. Tencent raised its share of that consortium to 51.2% in 2019. Supercell is still run from Helsinki by its own team.
Is HoYoverse (Genshin Impact) Chinese?
Yes. HoYoverse is the international brand of miHoYo, a company founded in Shanghai in 2012 that still has its headquarters there. The brand, launched in 2022, is operated by Cognosphere, a company based in Singapore. Genshin Impact, Honkai: Star Rail and Zenless Zone Zero are all miHoYo games.
Is Marvel Rivals a Chinese game?
Yes. Marvel Rivals is developed by NetEase Games, a Chinese company, in partnership with Marvel Games, which licenses the characters.
Is Mobile Legends Chinese?
Mobile Legends: Bang Bang is made by Moonton, a company founded in Shanghai in 2014 and bought by ByteDance, TikTok’s parent, in 2021. For years it was not available in mainland China; it launched there in January 2025.
Is Valorant Chinese?
Valorant is made by Riot Games, an American studio fully owned by China’s Tencent. In China, the mobile version, Valorant Mobile (无畏契约：源能行动), is published by Tencent; it was the second-highest-grossing iPhone game in China on 1 November 2026.
Sources
- TechCrunch, Tencent takes full control of League of Legends creator Riot Games (17 December 2015) · accessed 1 Nov 2026
- MCV, What does $330m get you? 40% of developer Epic (March 2013) · accessed 1 Nov 2026
- SoftBank Group, Tencent to acquire majority stake in Supercell from SoftBank (21 June 2016) · accessed 1 Nov 2026
- Pocket Gamer.biz, Tencent takes majority stake in consortium that owns Supercell (October 2019) · accessed 1 Nov 2026
- PC Gamer, Tencent acquires majority stake in Path of Exile studio (21 May 2018) · accessed 1 Nov 2026
- Ubisoft, Completion of Tencent’s strategic investment in Vantage Studios (21 November 2025), via MFN · accessed 1 Nov 2026
- Wikipedia, miHoYo (founding, Shanghai headquarters, HoYoverse and Cognosphere) · accessed 1 Nov 2026
- Game Developer, NetEase and Marvel team on PvP shooter Marvel Rivals (27 March 2024) · accessed 1 Nov 2026
- Wikipedia, Moonton (Shanghai, 2014; ByteDance acquisition 2021; Mobile Legends in mainland China from January 2025) · accessed 1 Nov 2026
- Yicai Global, Century Huatong’s risk label lifted as stock triples on hit game Whiteout Survival · accessed 1 Nov 2026
- Apple App Store China, top grossing iPhone games, 1 November 2026 (our weekly chart) · accessed 1 Nov 2026
Update log. 1 November 2026 — reviewed. Next review due 1 February 2027. Suggest a correction