Report: NetEase to Sell Off Majority of Its Overseas Teams, Potentially Closing a Dozen Game Studios
[summaraize]
Recently, it was reported that NetEase had laid off the Marvel Rivals development team to “optimize development efficiency,” despite the game’s massive success. This has raised concerns that the company may be going through a difficult phase, with these recent changes pointing to a bigger issue. New information shared today by Game File (paywalled) has revealed even more.
It seems that NetEase is indeed undergoing a major restructuring, and many of its development studios could be affected if certain conditions aren’t met. The most worrying part is that some of these studios are highly known, like Quantic Dream, the developers of Detroit: Become Human.
Dozens of NetEase Studios Could Shut Down
NetEase is reportedly considering cutting ties with all of its non-Chinese studios. These teams could face closure if they don’t find a way to secure funding after NetEase stops supporting them financially. This also means that if these studios don’t get bought by other companies, they could be forced to shut down. Among these studios are:
- Quantic Dream
- Grasshopper
- Nagoshi Studio
- Pincool
- GPTRACK50 Studio
- Studio Flare
- Jackalyptic Games (Warhammer MMO)
- Anchor Point Studios
- T-Minus Zero Entertainment
- Rebel Wolves (The Blood of Dawnwalker)
- Skybox Labs (big Microsoft support studio)
- + Netease teams and smaller devs
Additionally, other games from NetEase, like Marvel Rivals, could suffer budget cuts, particularly in their marketing campaigns.
What do you think about all this? It would be a real shame if no other company shows interest in these talented studios. However, sooner or later, other companies will recognize the opportunity to bring in such talented teams, even if it’s unclear what will happen with them in the end.
In other news, NetEase CEO William Ding’s refusal to pay for Marvel licenses reportedly came close to causing the cancellation of its Marvel Rivals. This decision is said to have cost NetEase millions of dollars, though the company denies the claims.
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