Tencent acquired Turtle Rock Studios, a big acquisition announced by both companies this morning. Turtle Rock Studios are known for the original Left 4 Dead and their recent zombie shooter Back 4 Blood.

While Tencent acquired Turtle Rock Studios, the developer will become part of Tencent while retaining their independent operations based out of Lake Forest, California. Their existing team will continue their studio operations, led by co-founders Phil Robb and Chris Ashton. The acquisition will also have no effect on Back 4 Blood, the aforementioned zombie shooter spiritual successor that launched in October.

“We are all looking forward to joining the Tencent family of studios,” said Steve Goldstein, president and general manager of Turtle Rock Studios. “Tencent’s outstanding partners, global reach, deep knowledge of gaming and unprecedented support will help us create the kinds of ambitious games we dream of, while allowing us to retain our autonomy and independent spirit.”

“We are huge fans of Turtle Rock’s games, especially their amazing approach to creating co-operative online games,” said Eddie Chan, chief strategy officer of Tencent Games Global. “We can’t wait to see what comes next, and we’re excited to be part of their future.”

Juno Capital Partners represented Turtle Rock as M&A and strategic advisor, Creative Artists Agency represented Turtle Rock as its talent agency and Straddling, Yocca, Carlson & Rauth and Kabealo Law acted as legal counsel for Turtle Rock in the transaction.