Tencent veteran Juno Shin will lead the global business unit

Tencent Games is today announcing its Venture Lab unit will expand its support and capabilities to help early-stage game developers grow. Hong Kong-based Juno Shin, a Tencent veteran, will now head up Venture Lab globally. Venture Lab provides early-stage studios with the investment, expertise, tools and network they need to develop their games, bring them to market and drive them to success.

The move signals Tencent Games deepening commitment to the development of the global video games industry. Shin, who previously led business development and investment across Europe and Japan for Tencent Games, will lead a very senior team of seasoned industry professionals with 20 years or more experience. Specifically, Venture Lab services will include publishing, marketing, production, consulting, technology, game data science, as well as onsite support.

Early-stage game developers are one of the fastest growing industry segments. Game platform Steam saw an 12.6% jump in the number of indie games released on its platform between 2022 and 2023. Many of those games came from small teams or solo developers new to the industry. Early-stage games funding hit a twelve-month high in 2024, with over 90% of venture capital funding going to early-stage start-ups since the end of 2022.  And the 2024 GDC State of the Industry Report noted 40% of respondents identified themselves as early-stages game developers.

Shin commented: “The industry landscape is changing. We’re seeing a lot of smaller developers who are looking for much needed support and expertise in their growth journey. Having spent the last decade driving Tencent Games business development and investment, I have first-hand experience of what it takes for an early-stage game developer to be successful. At Venture Lab, we work with these early-stage studios to help them solve bottleneck problems or fill in missing capabilities to maximize their potential. We’re building a team of experts and veterans who can provide the right support to move these early-stage developers through the lifecycle towards building successful games.”

Eleventh Hour, partnered with Venture Lab for its action role-playing game, Last Epoch, which was launched earlier this year. Its currently sixth in Western Europe’s top-grossing Steam games for Q1 2024.

Judd Cobler, CEO, Eleventh Hour said: “As a new studio and team, our vision was to create original IP and build a self-publishing model. We worked with Venture Lab throughout our journey from production, marketing to publishing. The team understood our game and was passionate about our vision, whilst we remained in the driving seat of the design, creation and operation. This has built trust and a great, successful partnership.”

Venture Lab also played a pivotal role in German studio Keen’s and its Go-To-Market strategy for Enshrouded, contributing to its successful launch in January 2024. The survival game hit three million players earlier this month (Aug) and is currently 4th in Western Europe’s top-grossing Steam games in Q1 2024.

Venture Lab is part of Tencent Games global strategy to support the growth and spur innovation in the video games sector, regardless of studio size, platform focus, genre expertise or location. In December 2021, Tencent Games launched Level Infinite, a publishing brand that focuses on delivering high-quality games across multiple platforms to players around the world.

Level Infinite works with an array of global studios to help bring their games to market offering everything from strategic advice to bespoke capabilities along the publishing chain, all the way to full publishing services.

“By fostering a collaborative and supportive ecosystem, we are building an open platform to support the growth and success of the industry. We are proud of the team and momentum we have built in the last two years. We are excited about the pipeline to support upcoming games, such as Sharkmob’s Exoborne and others that will excite and engage global gamers,” said Level Infinite Vice President of Global PC and Console Publishing, Martin Sibille.

Venture Lab’s latest announcement also follows a recent partnership with Tencent Games and The Association of UK Interactive Entertainment’s (Ukie) Video Games Growth Programme, and the Department for Trade and Business in the UK, to support smaller, promising developers and indie startup studios looking to scale up.