Visions of Mana director Ryosuke Yoshida has departed NetEase to assume a new position with Square Enix.
In a statement on X/Twitter, Yoshida thanked NetEase and his development team for their support, but confirmed he quit the Chinese megacorp at the end of October and will join Square Enix in December.
Whilst Yoshida had been employed at NetEase subsidiary Ouka Studios, Visions of Mana was published by Square Enix – the company he has now joined.
“On a personal note, I quit NetEase Ouka Studios on October 31st. We were a new studio, but we were able to release Visions of Mana. I am grateful to the development team and NetEase for their support,” Yoshida wrote (thanks, Knoebel).
It was a very good experience. Thank you all. I am happy to announce that I joined Square Enix in December.
“I will do my best to make a game that many people can enjoy!”
Yoshida stopped short of revealing what position he will take on at Square Enix, or what game or franchise he may be working on.
The news comes after Ouka Studios had “all but a handful of jobs” cut by parent company NetEase.
Ouka Studios opened in 2020 and hired staff from the likes of Capcom and Bandai Namco.
Last week, NetEase told Eurogamer it remained committed to “a strong global presence” despite pulling funding from Worlds Untold, the studio founded by Mass Effect veteran Mac Walters, and just days after fellow BioWare veteran Casey Hudson announced the closure of his own new studio due to similar funding issues.
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