China-based games publisher NetEase has been on a bit of an acquisition spree in recent years, picking up a bunch of international studios across the US, Europe and other regions. Unfortunately, NetEase is now rethinking its investments, putting a number of studios at risk of closure.
According to Venturebeat and GameFile, NetEase is apparently ‘offloading' a number of its overseas holdings, as it looks to reduce the amount of money spent developing titles overseas. This is in part due to the high cost of running a US-based game studio.
One source told GameFile that if some of these studios are unable to get outside funding, they will face closure as NetEase looks to reduce costs. These concerns arose following the firing of NetEase's Seattle-based team that worked on Marvel Rivals. The studio was closed despite the game's incredibly successful launch, which has brought in over 40 million players so far.
Studios like Quantic Dream (Star Wars Eclipse) and Rebel Wolves (Blood of Dawnwalker) are thought to be safe at this time.
KitGuru Says: We'll have to wait and see how things shake out but since this story initially broke, it is worth noting that a few studios have released statements to say that they are still operational and have not yet heard anything.