David Jaffe Says He Turned Down a $100 Million Tencent Deal

Game designer David Jaffe, known for his work on Twisted Metal and God of War, has revealed that he turned down a $100 million deal with Chinese publisher Tencent. He attributes this decision primarily to his critical view of the Chinese government.

During the recent Sacred Symbols+ podcast (paywalled, transcribed by VGC), Jaffe shared that representatives of the corporation approached him and offered to act as the game director of an unnamed $100 million project, however, he refused the deal. "I said 'no thank you'… because you’re Tencent and I want nothing to do with you," he said.

Jaffe also explained that it was the western division of Tencent that contacted him. Although he did not want to cooperate with the corporation anyway because it is closely tied to the Chinese government.

"It was bad because it was the western Tencent, and it was a western guy that I respect that was calling me and I wasn’t trying to shame the guy," he said. "I hope he’s got thick enough skin, and he’s been an executive in the business way longer than I have, but I was just like 'man, I don’t want to do business with a company like that, with a government like that.'"

Following the VCG's report, some questioned the veracity of Jaffe's words regarding Tencent's offer. The game designer responded in a tweet sharing screenshots of the correspondence with the Chinese company's executive, where he refuses the deal, noting that he enjoys doing his own shows, streams, and interacting with the community.

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