Internet/mobile services firm and online game developer Tencent has signed a multi-SKU licensing agreement with Emergent Game Technologies for the use of the company's Gamebryo and Gamebryo Lightspeed engines.

Emergent's engines allow developers to create single-player, online, and multiplayer titles in a variety of genres, providing a cross-platform toolset for PS3, Xbox 360, Wii, and PC projects. They're designed for "rapid prototyping, rapid iteration, and rapid development", and allow studios to integrate both in-house and third-party tech.

Headquartered in Shenzhen, China, Tencent develops, publishers, and operates a number of MMOs and casual titles, including Dungeon & Fighter (Dungeon Fighter Online), Cross Fire, and more than 60 other games. It also runs QQ.com, one of China's largest web portals.

Tencent maintains a development studio in Boston, which is currently working on an unannounced "fantasy-based MMO". The company hasn't revealed if that project will use Emergent's engines, but it has said that Gamebryo and Lightspeed will serve as "core client side technologies" for the development of its gaming products.

"Tencent is a true global success story, continually innovating with each level of its business and we look forward to a long, integrated partnership to help them realize the next level of videogame entertainment," says Emergent CEO Scott M. Johnson. "Emergent’s products allow Tencent’s teams to focus more on game specific development and content creation, rather than core client technology development."