Grasshopper Manufacture Inc., the developers behind the No More Heroes series and various games, will be joining NetEase Games.
The equity transfer agreement was signed on May 31, 2021, and will see the team led by Goichi Suda (Suda 51) being part of the China-based publisher and developer.
“NetEase is honoured to be the companion of Mr. Suda and Grasshopper Manufacture Inc. on this new journey into the future,” the press statement by NetEase Games reads. “We hope to give the studio creative freedom and sufficient resource support in order to empower said studio to create even more sensational works for gamers worldwide.“
“As we all know, NetEase Games has developed many excellent games in the past, and I have long been aware of NetEase’s creative capabilities,” said Grasshopper Manufacture Inc. CEO Goichi Suda on the announcement. “When talking with NetEase about ‘developing more unique console games together,’ we resonated.
“After a lot of thoughts, we’ve unanimously decided to ‘get together’ in the long term through deeper cooperation to create more good content for gamers.”
NetEase will be funding future game developments, as well as advising Grasshopper on the business planning activities. Grasshopper will have full creative control and will maintain the consistent “Grasshopper Manufacture flavour”, as Suda calls it.
In addition, Grasshopper Manufacture will now have access to NetEase Games’ game development resources, like game art artists and quality assurance support.
NetEase Games have found success in the mobile gaming space but as of late, are expanding into more mainstream (console and PC) gaming market. They recently published Naraka: Bladepoint, the melee battle royale inspired by Chinese mythology.
Grasshopper meanwhile has been making rad but niche games, including Killer Is Dead, Lollipop Chainsaw, Shadows of the Damned and Let It Die and the ongoing No More Heroes series, working with various publishers. Their latest game, No More Heroes 3, is out now on the Nintendo Switch.
This looks to be the start of many more acquisitions, as NetEase is publicly looking for more game creators to work with.