The fate of NetEase’s overseas game studios seems to be in flux as the company adjusts its strategies by gradually shutting down studios outside of China to reduce costs. Marvel Rivals team in the U.S, Ouka in Japan (known for games like Visions of Mana, Worlds Untold), and Jar of Sparks in the U.S have already faced layoffs.
However, aside from these closures, NetEase still owns several renowned game studios such as Grasshopper Manufacture in Japan (acquired in 2021) founded by game director Suda51, Nagoshi Studio in Japan (established in 2022 under NetEase) led by Toshihiro Nagoshi who created the Yakuza series, Quantic Dream in France (acquired in 2022) known for Detroit: Become Human and working on Star Wars Eclipse, SkyBox Labs in Canada (acquired in 2023) owner of the game Stela and collaborating with Microsoft on Halo Infinite, BulletFarm in the U.S (founded in 2024 under NetEase) led by David Vonderhaar of the Call of Duty team, Rebel Wolves in Poland (minority ownership) former team members of The Witcher, and Behaviour Interactive in Canada (minority ownership) creators of Dead by Daylight and Meet Your Maker.
It remains unclear how NetEase plans to proceed with these studios (whether to close them all, some of them, or reduce staff). Recent actions by NetEase may be causing significant concerns among employees within these studios.
Sources: Bloomberg, Wccftech, Kotaku
TLDR: NetEase is making changes to its overseas game studios, leading to closures and layoffs, while still retaining ownership of several prominent studios worldwide. The future direction of these studios under NetEase remains uncertain, causing anxiety among the employees.
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