NetEase Games to Reportedly Close Visions of Mana Developer Ouka Studios - News
by William D'Angelo , posted on 02 October 2024 / 3,468 Views
NetEase has laid off all but a handful of developers at Visions of Mana developer Ouka Studios, according to people familiar with the matter that spoke with Bloomberg. NetEase plans on shutting down the Tokyo-based studio that was opened in 2020.
Tencent And NetEase, China's two biggest gaming publishers, are also reconsidering or at least scaling back many of their investments in Japanese studios. this is according to the same sources, who remain anonymous as these plans have yet to be made public.
A NetEase spokesperson told Bloomberg it had "nothing to announce" when asked about the potential of Ouka Studios closing.
"In supporting studios outside China, we craft our strategy based on our goal of providing better gaming experiences to local and global players," said the NetEase spokesperson. The company is "thus always making necessary adjustments to reflect market conditions."
Tencent in an email told Bloomberg it remains committed to its partner studios and developing its business in Japan.
A life-long and avid gamer, William D'Angelo was first introduced to VGChartz in 2007. After years of supporting the site, he was brought on in 2010 as a junior analyst, working his way up to lead analyst in 2012 and taking over the hardware estimates in 2017. He has expanded his involvement in the gaming community by producing content on his own YouTube channel and Twitch channel. You can contact the author on Twitter @TrunksWD.
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...........the day the game releases?!?! JFC.
This is terribly strange and sad. I thought that team had done a lot to revitalise the series in a way fans have wanted for years.
It’s sad that the studio was shut down the day they released their big game.
On the other hand, I do hope Tencent and NetEase really are considering reducing their footprint outside of China.
wtf
Guys! Guys! It's OK that these workers and their creative vision are being cancelled
It's "a corporate strategy"
so who's handling patches ect ?
They aren't closing them yet, just laying off some people for now. They will fulfill however many patches and DLC's they are contractually obliged to with Square Enix and then close them.
thank you for your hard work but not that you are complete we no longer need you, sad
NetEase Games to Reportedly Close Visions of Mana Developer Ouka Studios
NetEase Games has reportedly decided to shut down Ouka Studios, the developer behind Visions of Mana. According to sources familiar with the situation who spoke to Bloomberg, the Tokyo-based studio has laid off nearly all of its developers, with only a few remaining. Ouka Studios, which was established in 2020, is expected to close its doors soon.
This news comes amid broader reports that both Tencent and NetEase, China's largest gaming publishers, are reconsidering or scaling back their investments in Japanese studios. These developments have not yet been made public, and the sources who provided the information chose to remain anonymous.
When approached by Bloomberg, a NetEase spokesperson stated that the company had "nothing to announce" regarding the closure of Ouka Studios. The spokesperson added, "In supporting studios outside China, we craft our strategy based on our goal of providing better gaming experiences to local and global players. We are thus always making necessary adjustments to reflect market conditions."
Meanwhile, Tencent reassured Bloomberg via email that it remains committed to its partner studios and the continued development of its business in Japan.
Are you declaring that you were plagiarized? There is very little difference in what is in your post versus the VGChartz article.
I suspect it's a bot SEO account, as there was originally a link to an unrelated site in the post, but I'm not 100% sure. I removed the link but left the post just in case it is genuine, and left a note for the Mods in case it happens again. If it's a bot it probably reformulates text on the page and posts that, in order to look like a somewhat genuine post.
I figured it was something nefarious, mainly was trying to elicit a response. I would never suggest though that you would be capable of such an act. I watch plenty of your content thats not on this site and you have never displayed any type of unscrupulous behavior.
Definitely a bot, was just looking at some of the account's forum posts and some of them look like they were written by AI. For instance their post on the Israel-Hamas war topic starts with "This is a deeply complex issue that speaks to the long-standing conflict between Israelis and Palestinians, which elicits strong emotions on both sides.", which is exactly how AI chatbots word their responses when asked about a divisive topic.
You're too free! Go get a job and make some money. Stop meddling in other people's matters.
Essay Pro