Tag Archives: Ouka Studios

NetEase Cutting Jobs At Ouka Studios Ahead Of Potential Closure



Bloomberg is reporting that Visions of Mana developer Ouka Studios is about to the shuttered by parent company NetEase, GameDeveloper reported.

The Japanese studio opened in 2020 and hired veteran developers from Capcom and Bandai Namco. It was tapped to handle production on Visions of Mana, a new mainline entry in the popular series published by Square Enix.

The action-RPG garnered a positive reception when it launched earlier this week, but NetEase is reportedly looking to shutter the studio responsible for that critical success. 

NetEase rival Tencent — another sprawling Chinese business with a taste for massive investments — is also reportedly rethinking its approach in Japan. The company has seemingly pulled out of several funding commitments in the region that would have financed multiple new projects.

IGN reported Chinese video game company NetEase has reportedly laid off most staff at Visions of Mana developer Ouka Studios with plans to shut it down all together.

Anonymous sources familiar with the situation told Bloomberg that the studio which only opened in 2020, will be kept afloat by the few remaining members until its final games have been released. Visions of Mana only launched yesterday, August 29, 2024, and earned high critical praise.

The closure of Ouka Studios is reportedly due to major Chinese companies like NetEase and its rival Tencent shifting away from a Japan-centric approach. 

Bloomberg reported that Tencent is also reconsidering how much it invests in Japanese video game developers and has already backed out of several funding commitments. It had secured the rights to develop and publish the mobile version of anime-inspired game Blue Protocol, for example, but on August 28, Bandai Namco announced Blue Protocol would be shut down altogether, and its worldwide release, set to be handled by Amazon Games, was cancelled.

NetEase told Bloomberg it had “nothing to announce” regarding the closure of Ouka Studios. Tencent said it is “always making necessary adjustments to reflect market conditions.

VideoGamesChronicle reported Ouka Studios, the developer behind Visions of Mana, is reportedly set to close as part of an overall scaling back of investment in Japanese studios NetEase and Tencent.

Both Chinese companies have invested heavily in Japanese game development in recent years, acquiring numerous development studios and opening new ones.

Now, however, a Bloomberg report claims both companies are starting to rethink their strategy because it’s yet to bear any significant fruit.

According to the report, NetEase has “cut all but a handful of jobs” at Shibuya-based Ouka Studios, whose Visions of Mana was only released on Thursday.

The company reportedly plans to close the studio, with the remaining staff overseeing the release of its final games first.

In my opinion, it seems strange to me that Ouka Studios is suddenly laying off workers and only keeping a few around to finish up with the company’s final games.