Chinese NetEase cuts international investments, which will hurt US game dev — insiders
Translated with AI from the Russian original.
Recent moves by Chinese publisher NetEase have sparked concerns over plans to scale back overseas investments, including its stakes in American gaming companies.
Cost reduction and other factors are prompting the company to review its international assets, which could affect the US market. NetEase has denied rumors of a complete shutdown of overseas projects.
According to insiders, NetEase was instructed to reduce the number of overseas studios, citing high expenses associated with American developers. One example was the layoff of the team working on Marvel Rivals.
Another factor was the successful track record of Chinese developers in creating AAA games. An example is Black Myth: Wukong from the Chinese studio Game Science, which sold tens of millions of copies. This makes producing games inside China more cost-effective than in the US or Europe.
However, NetEase stated that it will continue to follow its global expansion strategy, focusing on developing high-quality games. The company acknowledged cutting two studios at the end of 2024, adding that this was tied to business assessments rather than political factors.
The impact of the cuts on the US industry could be significant, given that NetEase is one of the largest players in the market.
***
Cover author: NetEase. Cover source: Venturebeat
Never miss our newsAdd this site to your preferred sources to see us more oftenAdd on Google
