Star Wars: Eclipse developer Quantic Dream has launched a press release as experiences flow into that Chinese language megacorp NetEase was wanting to dump its abroad gaming companies.
With mass layoffs, cancellations, and shutdowns for multiple years now, NetEase’s reported withdrawal from western online game improvement is regarding, significantly given quite a few costly and high-profile video games have flopped in spite of excessive firm expectations.
Nevertheless, in a press release posted to LinkedIn, Quantic Dream CEO and head of publishing, Guillaume de Fondaumière, mentioned he was “deeply saddened to be taught in regards to the current layoffs and studio closures affecting among the NetEase group’s divisions,” however assured gamers that Quantic’s studios in Paris and Montreal stay “unaffected.”
“[Quantic president] David Cage and I would really like to categorical our gratitude to the followers and pals who’ve reached out to us in current days relating to Quantic Dream,” de Fondaumière wrote. “We would like to reassure everybody that our studios in Paris and Montreal stay unaffected. We’re persevering with to develop our initiatives at full tempo, with a number of open positions obtainable in each areas.”
de Fondaumière added that regardless of NetEase buying Quantic Dream as an entirely owned subsidiary in 2022, “Quantic Dream stays dedicated to the technique outlined by David and I in 2019,” insisting “NetEase has been a devoted associate, offering us with inventive freedom and the monetary sources needed for our studio to develop and try.”
The CEO additionally revealed the studio’s back-catalog had seen an “distinctive efficiency,” contributing to the “highest income in [the company’s] historical past” in 2024.
“The developments of our present initiatives are progressing as deliberate, and we’re totally dedicated to delivering and launching these modern, high-quality titles in the longer term,” de Fondaumière mentioned, however didn’t present any particular replace on its upcoming Star Wars recreation, Star Wars: Eclipse.
In a press release to IGN, a rep from NetEase Video games’ Global Public Relations Division mentioned:
“As far as abroad enterprise efforts are involved, NetEase has not wavered in its world growth plans. Our ‘two-pronged’ method (combining self-research and investments to discover world markets), continues to be actively progressing and yielding optimistic outcomes.
“For titles developed by the self-owned studios, we efficiently launched video games like As soon as Human and Marvel Rivals in 2024. These initiatives exhibit NetEase’s potential, together with our proficient improvement groups, to produce high-quality video games cherished by gamers worldwide. For 2025, now we have an in depth pipeline of titles in improvement, that includes a wide range of genres, together with FragPunk, ANANTA and extra.
“As a part of our funding technique, each choice was based mostly purely on enterprise evaluations and was not influenced by different components. Our studios in North America, the UK, Spain, France, and Japan all proceed to refine and develop their ongoing recreation initiatives.
“The corporate continues to make investments in our world enterprise and actively recruits and nurtures expertise. On the identical time, organizational construction adjustments geared toward enhancing efficiency are a needed a part of our ongoing progress.
“[CEO] Mr. Ding said on the current earnings name that NetEase is dedicated to supporting actually high-quality studios and grasp creators. That’s the firm’s technique, and there’s no change in this plan. For any studio globally, it behooves us as a accountable industrial enterprise to steadily consider the progress, viability and potential for achievement of our merchandise and groups.”
When pressed for an replace particularly relating to NetEase subsidiary studios Nagoshi Studio, Grasshopper Manufacture, Pincool, GPTRACK50, and Quantic Dream, the NetEase Video games rep added:
“For the studios you particularly identified, I haven’t heard any adjustments up to now. As deliberate, we expect to deliver among the titles to the general public this 12 months.”
In reference to the closure of Visions of Mana developer Ouka Studios, NetEase mentioned: “It’s a self-owned studio, as a substitute of a first-party or invested one. The studio’s difficult monetary state of affairs led to vital losses. We fastidiously thought-about each possibility beneath the circumstances and took the choice course of very significantly.”
Simply final week, we realized that regardless of netting 40 million gamers and securing thousands and thousands for developer NetEase, Marvel Rivals was practically canceled as Ding was reportedly reluctant to pay for the rights to use licensed IP. NetEase lately laid off the Marvel Rivals director and its Seattle-based design group.
Vikki Blake is a reporter, critic, columnist, and advisor. She’s additionally a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually Excessive Chaos. Discover her at BlueSky.