NetEase Games has announced layoffs at Ouka Studios, the studio behind action RPG hit Visions of Mana, with plans to close the studio entirely, according to a recent Bloomberg report. Read on to learn more about the development.
Visions of Mana Studio Suffers Job Cuts Amid Industry Shift and Wukong's Success
NetEase Reconsidering Investments Amid Boom in Chinese Gaming Scene
Ouka Studios, the studio behind the recently released “Visions of Mana” for Square Enix, has seen "all but a handful of jobs" cut by parent company NetEase Games, as reported by Bloomberg. The shuttering of Ouka Studios, which was established in 2020, comes as part of a broader strategy by Chinese gaming giants like NetEase reconsidering its investments in foreign studios, such as the Tokyo-based Visions of Mana Studio, according to the cited sources close to the matter. This move follows years of major spending, now prompting a rescaling, compounded by a resurgence in the Chinese gaming market.
Ouka Studios opened with considerable fanfare, having been composed of veterans from other gaming powerhouses such as Bandai and Capcom. The few remaining employees at Ouka will reportedly oversee the final rollout of the studio's last games before the expected shutdown is completed, though these projects were undisclosed. Back in 2022, Ouka Studios had revealed three major projects in development: an Action RPG featuring "unique allies," a game based on a popular series, and a project that seemed to be a new IP with co-op action elements. However, it is currently unclear whether these games will come to fruition as originally planned.
Game8 has quite enjoyed its experience playing Visions of Mana, and commends the developers' masterful acuity of developing what we believe is a fully-fledged Action RPG experience. For more on our thoughts on Visions of Mana, check out our review and click on the link below!
“Nothing to Announce” Yet Regarding a Potential Closure
While it is speculated that Ouka Studios is likely shuttering, a NetEase Games representative told Bloomberg that the company has "nothing to announce" regarding a potential closure. The spokesperson said that NetEase is seeing progress at its other Japanese studios and remains committed to producing games in partnership with them. NetEase is "always making necessary adjustments to reflect market conditions," the representative added.
NetEase's Japanese studio portfolio includes notable houses such as Nagoshi Studio, led by former SEGA producer/director Toshihiro Nagoshi; GPTRACK50, headed by former Capcom producer Hiroyuki Kobayashi and wholly-funded by NetEase; and Grasshopper Manufacture, known for the Killer7 and the No More Heroes series, under Goichi Suda.
On the other hand, Tencent, another China-based gaming giant and NetEase's primary rival, was reportedly also reconsidering the scale of its investment in Japan. Bloomberg reported that Tencent has already pulled back from several funding commitments, or pledges, for new titles. However, Tencent, in a statement to Bloomberg, said that it remains committed to its partner studios in Japan.
According to Bernstein analyst Robin Zhu, both companies are likely to further reconsider their returns more closely as the gaming industry as a whole continues to experience shifts. In such instances, many large holding companies, publishers, and otherwise have announced major job cuts in relation to scaling back investments, as evident in the mass layoffs that have been haunting the industry the past years.
Black Myth: Wukong Leading Charge in Domestic Market Resurgence
The shift in focus by these Chinese gaming giants coincides with an observed resurgence in the Chinese gaming market, which had been hampered by regulatory scrutiny and government crackdowns in the past recent years. The success of Black Myth: Wukong, developed by the budding homegrown studio Game Science, seems to have further fueled confidence in the domestic market.
Released recently on August 20, Black Myth: Wukong quickly became a blockbuster, outperforming long-standing chart-toppers like Counter-Strike 2 and Dota 2 in concurrent player counts on Steam. The game sees its strongest support in China, where it accounts for an estimated 88.1% of its player base, based on previous data from game media agency GameDiscoverCo.
Black Myth: Wukong's success has sparked unprecedented buzz within the country's gaming community and even generated interest from the Shanxi province’s Department of Culture and Tourism, which has considered launching cultural tourism activities related to the game.
Plans of shuttering Ouka Studios may have been influenced by the success of domestic titles such as Black Myth: Wukong and possibly demonstrating the potential for Chinese-developed titles to achieve global impact and success, as well as possibly encouraging companies like NetEase to shift its broader focus back to domestic investments.
Though, in related developments, it was reported earlier in April that Xbox, Blizzard, and NetEase have struck a collaboration deal. The announcement came after a period of negotiations between Blizzard Entertainment and NetEase, with the collaboration bringing popular Blizzard titles like World of Warcraft, Hearthstone, and other games from the Warcraft, Overwatch, Diablo, and StarCraft franchises back to the Chinese market.
Source:
Bloomberg: Tencent, NetEase Rethink Japan Approach as Game Strategy Stalls
Famitsu: ネットイース・桜花スタジオの開発タイトルが判明。アクションRPG、新型バトルゲーム、協力型アクションゲームを家庭用ゲーム機向けに制作中
