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NetEase

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NetEase, Inc. (simplified Chinese: 网易; traditional Chinese: 網易; pinyin: Wǎngyì) is a Chinese Internet technology company providing online services centered on content, community, communications, and commerce. The company was founded by Ding Lei in 1997. It develops and operates online PC and mobile games, advertising services, email services, and e-commerce platforms in China. It is one of the largest Internet and video game companies in the world.[4] NetEase has an on-demand music-streaming service (NetEase Cloud Music). The video games include, Fantasy Westward Journey, Tianxia III, Heroes of Tang Dynasty Zero and Ghost II.[5] NetEase has partnered with Blizzard Entertainment to operate Chinese versions of their games, such as World of Warcraft, StarCraft II and Overwatch from 2008 to 2023.[6][7][8] In August 2023, NetEase launched an American studio led by Bethesda and BioWare veterans.[9]

NetEase, Inc.
Company typePublic
Nasdaq: NTES
SEHK: 9999
IndustryInternet
FoundedJune 1997; 27 years ago (1997-06)
FounderDing Lei
HeadquartersHangzhou, Zhejiang, China[1]
Key people
Ding Lei (CEO)
ProductsOnline services
Video games
RevenueIncrease CN¥ 59.24 billion (2019)[2]
Increase CN¥ 13.79 billion (2019)[2]
Increase CN¥ 21.43 billion (2019)[2]
Total assetsIncrease CN¥ 112.12 billion (2019)[2]
Number of employees
29,128 (December 2023)[3]
DivisionsNetEase YanXuan
NetEase Cloud Music
NetEase Games (Thunder Fire)
NetEase Games (Interactive Entertainment)
NetEase D&R Center Lab
NetEase Wisdom Enterprise
Youdao
NetEase News
SubsidiariesSee § Development studios
Website163.com

History

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The company was founded by Chinese businessman Ding Lei in June 1997, and grew rapidly due in part to the investment in search engine technology.[10] In 2012, the official name was changed from NetEase.com, Inc to NetEase, Inc.[11]

The company's top executives quit amid possible advertisement revenue misreporting, and buy-out talks with i-Cable Communications and others were reported.[12][13]

In 2008, the 163.com domain attracted at least 1.8 million visitors annually according to the Compete.com survey.[14] In 2010, the site was the 28th most visited site in the world according to Alexa Internet rankings.[15] NetEase's official website address is 163.com. It was attributed to the past when Chinese internet users dial "163" online, before the availability of broadband internet.[16][17]

Tencent sued NetEase alleging copyright infringement in 2014.[18]: 102  Tencent used its leverage from the suit to convince NetEase to sublicense music rights from Tencent.[18]: 102  The sub-licensing arrangement that resulted became a model used by other online music platforms in China.[18]: 102 

NetEase is the largest provider of free e-mail services in China with over 940 million users since 2017. The company also ran 188.com and 126.com.[19]

The company operates a news website at news.163.com and an associated app.[20][21] Riot Games sued NetEase over alleged copyright violation concerning Valorant in 2022.[22][23]

Expansion and acquisitions

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NetEase launched the first western headquarters in August 2014, bringing one of the largest tech companies from China to the United States.[24] In January 2020, NetEase discussed secondary listings with the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing.[25]

NetEase invested US$100 million into Bungie for a minority stake in the company and a seat on the board of directors in June 2018.[26] NetEase invested Aurora 44 in New Zealand and sold the comic books to Bilibili in December 2018.[27][28] NetEase acquired Quantic Dream in August 2022 after the 2019 minority investment.[29]

NetEase established Ouka Studios (Sakura Studios) in June 2020.[30] The company has offices in Guangzhou, China and Shibuya, Tokyo.[31]

NetEase acquired Grasshopper Manufacture from GungHo Online Entertainment in October 2021, incorporating the developer within the division.[32]

NetEase opened Jackalope Games in May 2022, founded by former Daybreak Game Company employee Jack Emmert.[33] The company is later changed to Jackalyptic Games on May 18, 2023, and has a partnership with Games Workshop.[34]

Toshihiro Nagoshi, Daisuke Sato, and several other former Sega employees established Nagoshi Studio, which is part of their subsidiary.[35]

NetEase established Jar Of Sparks on July 18, 2022, founded by former 343 Industries employee Jerry Hook.[36] Polish VR studio Something Random announced that it had received an investment from NetEase.[37]

In August 2022, NetEase acquired Quantic Dream after the 2019 minority investment in the company. It became a subsidiary part of its parent company and had NetEase to have console game releases.[38] Something Wicked Games founder Jeff Gardiner announced that NetEase had invested $13.2 million for the studio.[39]

NetEase established a development company GPTRACK50 Studio in October 2022, founded by former Capcom producer Hiroyuki Kobayashi.[40]

In November 2022, NetEase acquired the Polish studio Rebel Wolves which was founded on February 16, 2022. It was founded by former CD Projekt employee, and The Witcher 3 and Cyberpunk 2077 game director, Konrad Tomaszkiewicz.[41] It later acquired the Norwegian fitness startup PlayPulse.[42] NetEase acquired a minority stake for Liquid Swords.[43]

NetEase acquired the Canadian studio Skybox Labs in January 2023.[44]

In February 2023, NetEase opened the studio Spliced,[45] and acquired the video game company Studio Flare which was established on September 6, 2022. It was founded by former Marvelous vice president Toshinori Aoki, and former Arc System Works employee and BlazBlue game creator Toshimichi Mori.[46]

In March 2023, NetEase launched the Anici anime brand to "support the anime industry", delivering a variety of animation together with various partners.[47]

NetEase opened Anchor Point Studios in April 2023.[48]

NetEase established Bad Brain Game Studios in May 2023, founded by Watch Dogs and Driver: San Francisco game producer Sean Crooks.[49] NetEase opened a video game company PinCool, founded by former Square Enix employee and Dragon Quest producer Ryutaro Ichimura.[50]

NetEase opened T-Minus Zero Entertainment in August 2023, founded by veteran game developers, Rich Vogel, Mark Tucker, Scott Malone and Jeff Dobson.[51]

NetEase established Fantastic Pixel Castle in November 2023, founded by former Blizzard lead system designer Greg Street.[52] NetEase opened the studio Worlds Untold, founded by Mass Effect game writer Mac Walters.[53] In November 2024, NetEase withdrew its funding from Worlds Untold, resulting in the studio "pausing" its operations.[54]

In February 2024, NetEase opened BulletFarm, founded by Call of Duty veteran David Vonderhaar. The studio is working on a AAA co-op game with Unreal Engine 5.[55]

Partnerships

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The company has a history of partnerships with other companies. Blizzard Entertainment partnered with NetEase to bring some games for the Chinese market in 2008.[56] They announced the suspension of most game services within Mainland China, due to the expiration of current licensing agreement in January 2023.[7] According to NetEase's statement on 17 November 2022, Overwatch 2, Diablo III, World of Warcraft, StarCraft, Hearthstone and Heroes of the Storm, no longer received service in mainland China on 23 January 2023, and was not renewed.[8]

In April 2012, NetEase began testing a restaurant recommendation mobile app called "Fan Fan".[57][58] In 2017, NetEase made an agreement with the American company Marvel Comics to develop a comic based on a Chinese superhero. The comic books would be released online, such as The Amazing Spider-Man, Captain America and Guardians of the Galaxy.[28]

The company collaborated with coursera.org to provide Massive Open Online Course in China.[59] In 2014, NetEase launched an online course platform with educational content.[60]

In collaboration with NetEase, The Pokémon Company and Game Freak, an expanded version of Pokémon Quest called Pokémon Adventure was released in China on 13 May 2021, which has regular updates and events unlike other versions.[61][62]

Chinese government regulation

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In October 2020, the Cyberspace Administration of China ordered NetEase to undergo rectification and temporarily suspend certain comment functions, after censors found inappropriate comments on the news app.[63]

 
Gamers trying the new release of Speedy Ninja at PAX 2015

Games

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Year Title Developer Publisher Notes
2001 Fantasy Westward Journey NetEase Games NetEase Games
2002 Westward Journey Online II NetEase Games
2015 Revelation Online NetEase Games
2017 Rules of Survival NetEase Games Discontinued on 27 June 2022
2018 Creative Destruction NetEase Games Discontinued on 27 June 2022
Galactic Frontline NetEase Games Online title, Closed in 2020[64]
Identity V NetEase Games
LifeAfter NetEase Games
2019 Cyber Hunter NetEase Games
Sky Thatgamecompany Published in China only
Marvel Super War NetEase Games
Super Mecha Champions NetEase Games
2020 Marvel Duel NetEase Games
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night ArtPlay Android and iOS ports
2021 Ace Racer NetEase Games
Naraka: Bladepoint 24 Entertainment
Astracraft NetEase Games Discontinued on 21 December 2022
The Lord of the Rings: Rise to War NetEase Games Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
2022 Diablo Immortal NetEase Games, Blizzard Entertainment Blizzard Entertainment
Eggy Party NetEase Games NetEase Games
Hyper Front NetEase Games, BattleFun Games
Lost Light NetEase Games
2023 Dead by Daylight Mobile Behaviour Interactive, NetEase Games Behaviour Interactive, NetEase Published in China only
2024 Bloodstrike NetEase Games NetEase Games Available on iOS, iPadOS, Android and Windows
Once Human NetEase, Starry Studio NetEase Games, Starry Studio Available on Android, iOS, Microsoft Windows
Marvel Rivals NetEase Games NetEase Games
TBA Racing Master Dahua Studios, Codemasters
Tom and Jerry: Chase NetEase Games
Harry Potter: Magic Awakened NetEase, Envoy Games NetEase Games, Portkey Games, Envoy Games
Where Winds Meet Everstone Studio NetEase Games
Project: BloodStrike NetEase Games
Project: E.O.E
Project: EXTREME
Ananta NetEase Games, Naked Rain

Licensed online games

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  • Three-year agreement to license Blizzard's title Overwatch in PRC[65]
  • Agreement to license Mojang's Minecraft and the pocket edition in China[66]
    • Operated the Chinese third-party Minecraft Hypixel server, which was shut down on 30 June 2020[67]
  • Assumed the publishing of Eve Online in the Chinese market in October 2018[68]

Development studios

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Studio Location
NetEase Games Shanghai, Guangzhou and Hangzhou, China
Ouka Studios Tokyo, Japan and Guangzhou, China
Grasshopper Manufacture Tokyo, Japan
PinCool
Nagoshi Studio
NetEase Games Tokyo
GPTRACK50 Studio Osaka, Japan
Studio Flare Gotanda, Tokyo, Japan
Quantic Dream Paris, France
Jackalyptic Games Austin, Texas, United States
T-Minus Zero Entertainment
Jar of Sparks Seattle, Washington, United States
Anchor Point Studios Seattle, Washington, United States and Barcelona, Spain
NetEase Games North America Los Angeles, California, United States
BulletFarm
NetEase Games Montreal Montreal, Quebec, Canada
SkyBox Labs Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada
Bad Brain Game Studios Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Worlds Untold Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Spliced Manchester, United Kingdom
Rebel Wolves Warsaw, Poland
NetEase Games Korea Seongnam, South Korea
Liquid Swords Stockholm, Sweden
Fantastic Pixel Castle Remote studio

References

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