NetEase remains in serious trouble. Although games such as Marvel Rivals are making up for some of the losses (although for a time it could even have been cancelled), the Chinese giant continues to fail to find success with its games. As a result of this instability, the company, led by its CEO William Ding, has decided to cut hundreds of jobs, cut funding for ongoing projects and cancel a dozen other projects in order to focus only on those that are most likely to be successful in the short term.
Specifically, the projects of Japanese directors Suda51 (Grasshopper Manufacture) and Toshihiro Nagoshi (Nagoshi Studio) will be allowed to continue, but there will be no additional investment or new deadlines for delivering finished work. And once these games are released, there is a real possibility that their studios will be closed as well.
NetEase's current strategy also appears to be driven by the erratic decision-making of its CEO. According to Bloomberg, which is the source of the information, Ding has specifically asked his employees to double their workload and abolish lunch breaks, while putting a new generation of finance school graduates in charge of game projects. It seems it was a hot decision that led to the closure of Ouka Games, creators of Visions of Mana, a few months ago, or the recent closure of the Marvel Rivals support studio in the US.
Do you think NetEase will recover soon, and will it continue to look to generate half of its profits outside of China, or will it focus more on pursuing its goals in the local market?