With Marvel Rivals just over a month from launch, the team at NetEase have shared what makes their game different to the likes of Overwatch.
Read More »Bungie unveils Destiny: Rising, playtests begin in November
Destiny Rising is a new multiplayer shooter from Bungie and NetEase, bringing the franchise to iOS and Android for the first time.
Read More »Visions of Mana studio will reportedly close as companies reconsider Japan investments
Visions of Mana, the latest JRPG in the classic series, officially launched this week but the studio behind it is now swiftly facing closure, as major Chinese gaming companies, NetEase and Tencent, look to reduce their investments in Japan. Ouka Studios, the studio behind Visions of Mana, is reportedly closing …
Read More »Blizzard games are returning to China as Microsoft renews partnership with NetEase
In 2022, the relationship between Activision Blizzard and its Chinese publishing partner, NetEase, began to rapidly deteriorate, leading to NetEase being dropped as the publisher for Blizzard titles in China and thus making those games inaccessible in the country. Now after acquiring Activision last year, Microsoft has mended fences. Microsoft …
Read More »Ex-Treyarch lead announces new studio
Back in August last year, we reported that David Vonderhaar – the long-time lead at Treyarch – announced his departure from the studio after more than 18 years. At the time, Vonderhaar opted not to share his future plans, though we now know that the industry veteran has opened up …
Read More »Suda51 and Yakuza creator discuss benefits of NetEase acquisition
NetEase has been a big name in the mobile gaming space for a while now, but in recent years the company has pushed into the console gaming space. Two of its biggest moves saw NetEase acquire Suda51’s Studio Grasshopper Manufacture alongside partnering with Yakuza creator Toshihiro Nagoshi for the opening …
Read More »NARAKA: Bladepoint is going free-to-play this month
NARAKA: Bladepoint has been a top-selling game on Steam for a while now and the battle royale title has also made waves on console thanks to an Xbox release, as well as the game's inclusion on Xbox Game Pass. Now, NARAKA: Bladepoint is going through a major change, with plans …
Read More »NetEase acquires SkyBox Labs, co-developers of Halo and Minecraft
SkyBox Labs isn't necessarily known for the specific games developed by the studio. However, it has helped develop world-renowned franchises such as Halo, Age of Empires and Minecraft. NetEase has now acquired SkyBox Labs, hoping to bring some of that expertise into its ranks. SkyBox Labs is a Canadian game …
Read More »Blizzard is pulling its games from China after license talks with NetEase fall through
Blizzard has had a long-term partnership with NetEase to allow its games to operate in China. Unfortunately, a dispute between the two companies has come to light, and as a result, their licensing deal will be coming to an end and the majority of Blizzard games will be pulled from …
Read More »Bungie’s latest patent filings hint at Destiny mobile game
Earlier this year, we began hearing whispers about a Destiny mobile game, which Bungie is apparently working on in collaboration with NetEase, a company you'll all know and love following the launch of Diablo Immortal. Now, new patent filings suggest Bungie is indeed working on bringing Destiny to mobile in …
Read More »NetEase acquires Quantic Dream
Back in March, we learned that NetEase was looking to fully acquire Quantic Dream, following several years of being a minority stake holder. Now, that deal has been confirmed, with the Chinese games publisher now acquiring the former Sony partner. Quantic Dream made a name for itself with a series …
Read More »Blizzard reportedly cancelled a Warcraft MMO for mobile
A couple of years ago following Diablo Immortal's BlizzCon reveal, we learned that Blizzard was also working on a number of other mobile games, several of which were set in the Warcraft universe. This year, one of these games was officially announced, but Blizzard seems to be scrapping two other …
Read More »Bungie and NetEase reportedly working on a mobile Destiny game
Mobile hardware is more powerful than ever, allowing developers to create and release competent and comparable mobile ports of some of the industry’s biggest titles. It seems Bungie is planning to enter the mobile space, as the studio is reportedly working on a Destiny mobile game in collaboration with NetEase. …
Read More »Diablo Immortal made $24 million in two weeks but that might not be enough
At this point, it is well established that Diablo Immortal has one of the greediest gacha systems we've seen in a mobile game to date. Still, the controversy didn't scare off those who can afford to drop piles of cash on mobile games. In the two weeks since launch, Diablo …
Read More »KitGuru Games: Diablo Immortal is great… until Blizzard asks you for $100,000
Four years on from its infamous reveal, Diablo Immortal is officially out on both mobile and PC. Initially, there was a flurry of positivity around the game's launch, but once players began getting more familiar with the store and hitting end-game, major issues became apparent. Want a fully maxed out character? That'll be $100,000 please.
Read More »NetEase rumoured to be acquiring 100% of Quantic Dream
The public perception of French studio Quantic Dream has ebbed and flowed over the years, with current sentiment being far from the heights that the studio enjoyed following the release of 2010’s Heavy Rain. Still, the company’s upcoming Star Wars game has seemingly proven to be an enticing factor for …
Read More »China to limit video game playing for children to 3 hours per-week
China’s approach to governing a country can be seen by many ‘Western’ nations as being much more aggressive in its involvement in the personal lives of its citizens. This was seen with the country’s one child policy, and now, the government is limiting the number of hours that children can …
Read More »Tencent is looking to acquire more Japanese studios
Recently we reported that NetEase was in final talks with SEGA’s Toshihiro Nagoshi to poach the Yakuza creator, bringing him under the Chinese company's wing and giving him the freedom to create a new studio and IPs. It looks like NetEase isn’t the only Chinese-based company with an eye on …
Read More »Yakuza creator may leave SEGA to join NetEase
Toshihiro Nagoshi is one of SEGA’s most prolific names. Having joined the company all the way back in 1989, he has been in charge of some of the publisher’s biggest games, including creating the Yakuza franchise. Despite his lengthy history with SEGA, it seems he may finally be leaving the …
Read More »Minecraft surpasses 400 million players in China alone
Minecraft is the best selling video game on the planet. With over 200 million copies sold, the open sandbox game is far ahead of all other competitors in this regard. These figures only account for paid copies sold however. In mainland China, where the game is free-to-play, Minecraft has surpassed …
Read More »Bungie is planning to be a multi-franchise studio by 2025
Ever since leaving Microsoft and Halo behind, Bungie has been working on the Destiny franchise. However, with the studio’s new and complete independence, Bungie is looking to do a bit more, with plans to push more franchises out into the market by 2025. We had our first hint of this …
Read More »Tencent and NetEase finally catch a break, granted new game licenses by the Chinese state
Since resuming its video game approvals in December, China has noticeably omitted its two biggest publishers. Finally seeing approval from the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television, both Tencent and NetEase have received licenses for the first time in over 9 months. Although Tencent is known for …
Read More »Hearthstone director’s new studio is working on a Marvel game
Last year, Ben Brode made the decision to leave Blizzard behind, taking a few friends from the Hearthstone team along with him. Together, they formed a new studio called ‘Second Dinner’, things have been quiet on that front for a while but this week, we started hearing some new things. …
Read More »Trademark reveals Bungie’s next game ‘Matter’
Back in June, we learned that Bungie would begin working on brand new IP outside of Destiny thanks to support from Chinese publisher, NetEase. The publisher invested $100 million in Bungie, giving the studio resources to manage multiple projects at once. Now, we have our first hint at what Bungie's …
Read More »Bungie receives $100m investment from Chinese publisher
Bungie is the mastermind behind some of the biggest games of all-time, including the likes of Halo and Destiny (and Marathon…). Now, they could be going in a different direction with the help of a Chinese publisher called NetEase. Bungie reported on the 1st of June that they had received …
Read More »PUBG takes aim at mobile competition, launching lawsuits against copycats
Before Bluehole managed to break onto smartphones with PUBG Mobile, a plethora of inspired games flooded the market in an attempt to ride the wave of popularity surrounding the battle royale genre. NetEase’s Rules of Survival and Knives Out in particular have since been highlighted by the publisher as threats …
Read More »