Venerable U.K. studio Jagex, best known for operating the long-running free-to-play MMORPG RuneScape, has been acquired by Chinese investors who intend to use it as the foundation for a new, yet unnamed Chinese game company.
This confirms and closes the book on reports from earlier this year that Jagex was in talks to be acquired for $300 million by Shandong Hongda,a Chinese mining firm which produces, among other things, iron ore, copper powder and other ferrous metal products.
Now, a studio representative tells Eurogamer that Jagex wasn't actually acquired by Shangdong, though the new games-focused Chinese company that investors plan to build around Jagex will be part of the same group of companies as the Chinese mining firm.
The Chinese holding company which Jagex will now be a part of is yet unknown, as are the value and terms of the deal Jagex made. However, studio chief Rod Cousens stated in a press release that Jagex will continue normal operations with its existing management team and that "it will be business as usual for the Company, its players and its employees post-acquisition."