This may come as a shock for many, but Capcom wasn’t the only studio behind the first two Monster Hunter Stories games. In fact, Marvelous, the studio also known for the Rune Factory series, worked a lot on the first two games of this spin-off trilogy. Now, that studio could be in danger, as Tencent could be removing some of its funding for Japanese studios, which sadly includes Marvelous and a few other developers out there.
Tencent Could Remove Funding from Marvelous, the Studio That Worked on Monster Hunter Stories
There have been several reports recently, with the big one coming from Bloomberg, talking about how Tencent is looking to pull back from some Japanese video game companies, one of them being Marvelous. According to the report, Tencent might want to reinvest in something else, as the industry is in a bit of a shaky situation at the moment.
While several studios, such as Platinum Games and FromSoftware, appeared in the conversation, given how Tencent has stakes in them, it seems those are safe. Marvelous, on the other hand, might not be, as the Chinese company could back away from it soon.
Many have started speculating as to what this could mean for Marvelous. Some believe that it could cause layoffs or even a studio closure, while others believe it could not change much, and maybe we’ll just see some delayed projects. Still, all of that is speculation as neither the company nor the studio has announced anything.
Also, this may sound scary for the series, but it is important to remember that Marvelous only worked on Monster Hunter Stories and its sequel. On the other hand, Capcom developed and published Monster Hunter Stories 3. That means that if we were to get a Monster Hunter Stories 4 in the future, whatever is happening between Tencent and Marvelous won’t affect that.
Still, some are nervous as Marvelous has developed several games, with Rune Factory being among the most famous ones. The recent Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma installment became an almost instant hit, as many thought it went back to the Rune Factory roots. So, it would be sad to see the studio go or start delaying some projects.
In the end, many are relieved to hear that this won’t affect any future Monster Hunter Stories projects, meaning that we can still capture Monsties without the fear of losing our Rathalos and party in the process.
