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Marvelous Tencent Partnership Ends After Six Years
Marvelous has confirmed the end of its capital and business alliance with Image Frame Investment, a wholly owned subsidiary of Tencent Holdings.
The agreement was first signed on May 25, 2020, as part of Tencent’s wider push into Japanese game companies. Image Frame became the largest shareholder, holding around 20% of the company’s voting rights through 12,166,400 shares. That is now changing.
As reported by Gamebiz, following Tencent’s review of its investment portfolio and capital allocation policy, Image Frame informed Marvelous of its intention to sell down its position. As a result, both sides have agreed to terminate the capital and business alliance.
Image Frame is expected to fall below 1% ownership after the transaction, meaning it will no longer qualify as the largest major shareholder, major shareholder, or other affiliated company.
Hayao Nakayama Becomes Marvelous’ Largest Shareholder
The shareholder reshuffle also changes the ownership structure. Hayao Nakayama, the former SEGA president and founder of Amuse Capital, is expected to become the largest major shareholder. Amuse Capital Investment will also become a major shareholder, ranking second after the changes.
Marvelous is handling the transition through a mix of treasury share acquisition, purchases by SBI Securities, and acquisitions by domestic operating companies. The company says the overall impact on its consolidated financial results for the fiscal year ending March 2027 is expected to be minor.
Story of Seasons Mobile Project Has Been Discontinued
The most direct gaming consequence is the cancellation of Tencent’s Story of Seasons mobile project. Tencent has decided to discontinue development of the title after considering the business environment and project profitability. The mobile adaptation was tied to a licence agreement originally signed in March 2019, before the wider capital and business alliance began.
Importantly, the licence agreement itself remains in effect. That means Tencent has not necessarily lost access to the Story of Seasons mobile rights, but the specific game under development has been stopped. For fans, that means the long-quiet mobile adaptation is effectively over for now.
Tencent’s Wider Investment Strategy Is Shifting
The timing is notable because Tencent has reportedly been reassessing several overseas game investments. A Bloomberg-sourced report previously said Tencent was negotiating exits from Japanese game studio investments, including Marvelous, as part of a broader portfolio review. The report also noted pressure from a slower games market and Tencent’s need to compete more aggressively in capital-intensive artificial intelligence development.
Tencent has not presented this as a complete retreat from gaming. The company previously said video games remain core to its business and that it remains committed to the Japanese market over the long term. Still, the Marvelous move shows Tencent is being more selective about where it keeps money tied up.
A Cleaner Path for Marvelous
For Marvelous, the end of the alliance may bring a cleaner shareholder structure at a time when its core brands remain important globally.
The company is best known to many players for Story of Seasons, Rune Factory, Daemon X Machina, and other Japanese-developed titles with loyal audiences. Losing Tencent as a major shareholder does not automatically change those franchises, but it does mark the end of a major outside influence that shaped the company’s ownership profile for 6 years.
The clearest immediate loss is Story of Seasons on mobile. Beyond that, the bigger story is about control. Marvelous is moving into its next phase with Tencent stepping back and domestic shareholders taking a larger role.
