Tencent Holdings and NetEase are reconsidering or scaling back many of their investments in Japanese studios after years of investment yielded few successful games and the Chinese market made a comeback.
NetEase has cut all but a handful of jobs at its Ouka studio in Tokyo, according to sources familiar with the matter. The company plans to shutter the Shibuya facility, which opened to much fanfare in 2020 and hired veterans from big names like Capcom and Bandai Namco Holdings. The few remaining will oversee the rollout of the final games before the studio closes.
NetEase’s much larger rival, Tencent, is also reconsidering the pace and scale of its investments in the country, the sources said, asking not to be named because the details aren’t public. It has already pulled out of at least several funding commitments for new games, the sources said.
