Ouka Studios, the developer behind Visions of Mana is facing closure as NetEase and Tencent scale back their investment in the Japanese video game market. In recent years, Chinese companies have invested heavily in Japanese game development with the acquisition of development studios.
However, those investments have not produced the desired fruit, hence the reason for a strategy rethink, according to a Bloomberg report. The report claimed NetEase has “cut all but a handful of jobs” at Ouka Studios based in Shibuya.
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Sources claimed those left in the studio will “oversee the rollout of its final games” before the studio is shuttered. Ouka Studios released Visions of Mana on Sunday, August 29, 2024. Bloomberg reporter Takashi Mochizuki said NetEase has been making cuts in the studio “since this spring at least”.
NetEase still has several studios in Japan. Their roster includes GPTRACK50, Studio Flare, Pincool, Nagoshi Studio, and Grasshopper Manufacture. The closure is coming roughly four years after Ouka Studios was launched to focus on making console games.
NEW: Tencent and NetEase are rethinking their Japan investment as Japanese developers failed to produce hit games. NetEase cut many staff at Ouka Studio with a plan to shut it down while Tencent backed off from funding commitments on several projects.https://t.co/89nXAwVFYa
— Takashi Mochizuki (@6d6f636869) August 30, 2024
When contacted about the closure, NetEase said it had “nothing to announce”, adding that it was “always making necessary adjustments to reflect market conditions”.
“In supporting studios outside China, we craft our strategy based on our goal of providing better gaming experiences to local and global players.”
Both NetEase and Tencent have invested in studios globally, including in the United States. Earlier this year, Tencent increased its stake in Remedy Entertainment, the Alan Wake maker. Analysts have weighed in on the matter including Robin Zhu, a Bernstein analyst who told Bloomberg that NetEase and Tencent are beginning to “scrutinize their returns more closely”.
“Globally, the video gaming industry has retrenched post-COVID, and many large publishers have reduced headcount or scaled back investments. Anecdotally, the Japanese developers’ desire to tightly control what can be done with their IP has sometimes been a source of friction.”
