Visions of Mana director Ryosuke Yoshida leaves NetEase and joins Square Enix. Read on to learn more about this surprising news!
Ryosuke Yoshida Leaves NetEase
Role in Square Enix Uncertain
Visions of Mana director and former Capcom game designer Ryosuke Yoshida left NetEase and joined Square Enix, as announced on his Twitter(X) account on December 2. Not much has been disclosed about his departure from Ouka Studios.
As part of Ouka Studios, Yoshida has been one of the most prominent figures in developing the latest installment of the Mana series, Visions of Mana. Together with people from Capcom and Bandai Namco, they released a successful game with new and upgraded graphics. After its release on August 30, 2024, Yoshida finally announced his departure from the studio.
In the same Twitter (X) post, Yoshida happily announced that he will be joining Square Enix in December. However, no further information has been provided about the projects or game titles he will be contributing to under this new role.
NetEase Scaling Down Japanese Investments
Yoshida's departure comes as no surprise, given that NetEase, the parent company of Ouka Studios, has reportedly been scaling back its investments in Japanese studios. A Bloomberg article from August 30 revealed that both NetEase and its rival Tencent decided to cut their losses after releasing a few successful games through Japanese studios. Ouka Studios is one of the companies affected by this shift, with NetEase reducing its workforce at Tokyo to only a few remaining employees.
Both companies are also preparing for the resurgence of the Chinese market, which requires the reallocation of resources such as funding and manpower. This comeback is most notably seen by the success of Black Myth: Wukong, winning awards like Best Visual Design and Ultimate Game of the Year at the 2024 Golden Joystick Awards.
In 2020, these two companies decided to stake their fortunes in Japan as China’s gaming market has been stagnating for a while. However, there seems to be friction between these entertainment giants and small Japanese developers. The former is more interested in taking franchises to the global market, while the latter is focused on controlling their intellectual properties or IPs.
Though NetEase and Tencent do not intend to remove their presence in Japan completely, given their strong relationship with Capcom and Bandai Namco, they are taking conservative action to reduce losses and prepare for the Chinese gaming industry’s comeback.
Source:
Bloomberg: Tencent, NetEase Rethink Japan Approach as Game Strategy Stalls
