Twisted Metal Director Claims Turns Down China-Backed $100M
David Jaffe claims to have turned down offer from Chinese Firm Tencent. “…Because you’re Tencent and I want nothing to do with you.”
Designer of popular video game franchises like Twisted Metal and God of War, David Jaffe, recently revealed he turned down an offer to direct a game with a $100 million budget from Tencent. Tencent is a Chinese investment firm and the world’s largest gaming company, owning Riot Games and major stakes in Epic Games, as well as significant shares in Activision Blizzard, Ubisoft, and more.
“I had a $100 million deal,” Jaffe stated on the Sacred Symbols+ podcast. “I was courted by a Chinese company… and I said ‘no thank you’… because you’re Tencent and I want nothing to do with you.”
“I was just like ‘man, I don’t want to do business with a company like that, with a government like that. […] In China, you just get picked up off the street if you go online and say something bad about the police or the government or anything and who knows when they’ll see you again. That’s not even mentioning if you’re a fucking Uyghur.”
After the story broke, some people were skeptical. But Jaffe followed up by sharing what appears to be correspondence with the investors.
Twisted Metal is a franchise that has stagnated in recent years. The most recent mainline game was released back in 2012. However, the upcoming Twisted Metal TV series is gathering attention and may reignite fans’ love for this wild series.
