The signs that Netease has ordered withdrawal are several. In November of last year Worlds Untold, a team led by Mac Walters, a screenwriter of Mass Effect, paused its operations after getting disconnected from the Chinese giant. The situation is very similar to that of Jar of Sparks, a study founded by the veteran of Xbox Jerry Hook who also paralyzed its operations after the flight of Netease. Both teams expect to find a solution to their financing problems, but today there are no news about it.
More recent is the case of the American team who participated in the development of Marvel Rival, who was fired this week. Now the shooter free-to-play It has remained in the hands of a study that netease has in China.
According to the different sources, Netease has decided to focus all its resources on perennial games that generate income over time. For ding I read a success sample is Eggy Party, a multiplayer title free-to-play For mobiles that has reached the masses and offers many options for players to spend money. It also seeks to reduce expenses. This mission even led the executive director to ask the Marvel Rivals team to design its own heroes so as not to have to pay royalties To Disney. The operation cost millions of dollars and could have caused the cancellation of the game.
That netease is reducing the ambition of its international operations is a fact. Now we just have to know the scope. In statements to Game File, a company spokesman has limited himself to saying that «all studies and projects are in constant review and evaluation.» It is unknown what is the situation of each of the netease teams. If we know by Bloomberg that Nagoshi Studios, the company founded by Toshihiro Nagoshi, creator of Yakuza/Like a Dragon, can finish his project, but it will not be given additional time if he needs it or there will be investment in marketing.
Then you have a list with the studies that it has or finances netease and that could close or sell.
- NetEase Montreal (Jonathan Morin's study, creative director of Watch Dogs)
- Quantic Dream (Responsible for Detroit: Become Human. Now work at Star Wars Eclipse)
- Grasshopper Manufacture (The study Suda51, creator of no more heroes)
- Nagoshi Studio (Toshihiro Nagoshi's study, creator of Yakuza/Like a Dragon)
- PinCool (The study by Ryutaro Ichimura, producer of Dragon Quest 8 and 9)
- Studio Flare (The study by Toshimichi Mori, producer of Blazblue)
- GPTRACK50 (The study by Hiroyuki Kobayashi, producer of Resident Evil, Dino Crisis, Devil May Cry and Dragon's Dogma)
- Jackalyptic Games (study led by Jack Emmert, head of City of Heroes, Neverwinter, Star Trek Online and DC Universe Online)
T-Minus Zero Entertainment (The study by Rich Vogel, producer of Star Wars: The Old Republic) - Bad Brain Games (The Sean Crook study, producer of Watch Dogs: Legion and Driver: San Francisco)
- Anchor Point Studios (based in Barcelona and led by Paul Ehreth, control designer and Halo 4 and 5 campaigns)
- SkyBox Labs (Halo support equipment, Age of Empires and Minecraft)
- Spliced (A study with Grand Theft Auto and Call of Duty developers)
- Fantastic Pixel Castle (The study by Greg Street, former Chief of World of Warcraft and League of Legends).
- Liquid Swords: (The study by Christofer Sundberg, creator of Just Cause, who has already announced dismissals)
- Rebel Wolves (A team founded by CD Projakt Red veterans)
- BulletFarm (study with Black OPS veterans who work in a shooter cooperative).