Summary
- Marvel Rivals publisher NetEase is reportedly planning to divest itself from the majority of its foreign studios, planning to either sell them or pull funding.
- Over a dozen studios are reportedly set to be impacted, including the likes of Quantic Dream, Suda 51’s Grasshopper, Nagoshi Studios, and more.
- If these studios can’t find funding elsewhere, they’ll be forced to close their doors, though we don’t know how hard each studio will be impacted right now.
NetEase has found itself a real cash cow in Marvel Rivals, a hero shooter that has taken the world by storm and is showing no signs of slowing down. Despite all the success on the gaming front, it sounds as though something far more serious and disappointing is happening behind the scenes, as a new report has claimed NetEase is planning to divest itself of the majority of its foreign studios.
Related
One In Ten Game Developers Were Laid Off In 2024
The games industry is shedding talent at an alarming rate.
This comes from a new report from Game File, which claims to have spoken to two anonymous people familiar with the inner workings of NetEase. According to the report, NetEase is “shopping around” a lot of its non-Chinese development studios in an effort to sell them. If there are no buyers and NetEase pulls funding, this could potentially lead to the closure of well over a dozen game studios.
Game File reached out to NetEase, but the company apparently declined to comment, instead explaining that “all studios and projects are in constant review and evaluation, and NetEase will determine changes needed to be made throughout that process.” It doesn’t sound particularly optimistic.
NetEase To Sell Or Shut “Majority” Of Its Foreign Studios, Claims Report
What makes this even worse is that NetEase is in control of some major talent across the globe. Its biggest studio is most likely Quantic Dream, which previously developed titles like Heavy Rain and Detroit: Become Human, with Star Wars Eclipse currently in development. It also owns Grasshopper Manufacture, the studio that was founded by Suda51 back in 1998.
Rebel Wolves is also another foreign studio that NetEase has a minority stake in, which is made up of former The Witcher 3 devs, and recently made waves after the announcement of its first game, Blood of the Dawnwalker. Nagoshi Studios could also be hit pretty hard, which was founded by Yakuza creator Toshihiro Nagoshi after his departure from Sega.
It will most likely be a case-by-case basis on which studios will be impacted hardest. For example, Blood of the Dawnwalker is being published by Bandai Namco, so you’d assume Rebel Wolves wouldn’t be affected too much if NetEase pulls funding. For studios like Grasshopper and Nagoshi Studios, the outlook is a bit more bleak, as both make fairly niche games and are now forced to find funding elsewhere.
This complete divestment of its foreign studios also goes a long way to explaining the recent Marvel Rivals layoffs, as those affected were part of a Seattle-based development team. We’ll have to see what happens to each studio as they wrap up the projects they’re working on, whether they get bought by another company or just close their doors for good. Either way, it’s a massive blow for so many talented devs, in an industry that feels like it’s falling to pieces.
NetEase Games
- Date Founded
-
June 1, 1997
- CEO
-
Ding Lei
- Parent Company
-
NetEase, Inc.
- Headquarters
-
Hangzhou, China