Remedy Entertainment and Tencent partner up for a new free-to-play co-op shooter codenamed Vanguard, both companies announced today.

While the new partnership between Remedy Entertainment includes a deal for the global development, licensing, and distribution for the new Vanguard shooter, the release of the game will be split between Tencent localizing it for Asian markets and Remedy handling the rest of the world. Tencent is also working on a mobile version.

“Vanguard marks Remedy’s first entry into Games-as-a-Service business model, executed by our top tier team of free-to-play experts,” said Tero Virtala, CEO of Remedy Entertainment. “We are building something new and exciting for co-operative multiplayer space, on top of Remedy’s strengths. Expanding our capabilities to take on publishing responsibilities is the next step in the development of our company. We are excited for this long-term partnership with Tencent and with confidence can say that it is an excellent fit in supporting Vanguard’s ambitious plans. Vanguard is a global opportunity, and Tencent can support Remedy internationally, and lead the operations in Asia and the mobile markets.”

It’s interesting that Remedy Entertainment is working on yet another big game from another big publisher like Tencent, as they’re also working on Alan Wake II under Epic Games Publishing for PC and consoles, as well as a full single-player campaign for the big tactical shooter CrossfireX.

It’s also interesting that while Tencent is a very massive publisher based out of China, the codename for the game is very similar to the latest Call of Duty, which has the Vanguard subtitle. The game is available on Windows PC (via Battle.net), PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S. In case you missed it, you can find our review here.