NetEase, Inc.
TypePublic
Nasdaq: NTES
SEHK: 9999
IndustryInternet
FoundedJune 1997 (1997-06)
FounderDing Lei
HeadquartersHangzhou, Zhejiang, China[1]
Key people
Ding Lei (CEO)
ProductsOnline services
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
18,129 (December 2017)[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

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 in 1997 by Ding Lei. NetEase 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 Music). The company also owns several pig farms.[5]

NetEase video games include, the Westward Journey series, Tianxia III, Heroes of Tang Dynasty Zero, Ghost II,[6] Nostos and Onmyoji. NetEase also partnered with Blizzard to operate Chinese versions of their games, such as World of Warcraft, StarCraft II, and Overwatch from 2008 to 2023.[7][8][9] In August 2023 NetEase launched a new US studio led by Bethesda and BioWare veterans.

History

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

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

In 2008, the 163.com domain attracted at least 1.8 million visitors annually by 2008 according to a Compete.com survey.[14] In 2010 the site was the 28th most visited site in the world according to Alexa's internet rankings.[15] NetEase's official website address is 163.com. This was attributed to the past when Chinese internet users had to dial "163" to connect to the internet, before the availability of broadband internet.[16][17] NetEase is the largest provider of free e-mail services in China with more than 940 million users as of 2017. In addition to 163.com, the company also runs 188.com, 126.com and more.[18]

The company also operates a news website at news.163.com[19] along with an associated app.[20] In 2022, Riot Games sued NetEase over alleged copyright violation concerning Riot Games's Valorant.[21][22]

Expansion and acquisitions

NetEase launched their first Western Headquarters in August 2014, bringing one of the largest tech companies in China to the US.[23] In January 2020, NetEase discussed secondary listings with the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing.[24]

In 2018 NetEase invested US$100 million into Bungie for a minority stake in the company and a seat on its board of directors.[25] In December of the same year NetEase invested in New Zealand developer A44 (Formally known as Aurora 44),[26] and it sold its comics business to Bilibili.[27] In 2019 NetEase obtained a minority stake in Quantic Dream for an undisclosed investment.[28]

In June 2020 NetEase established a Japanese studio called "Sakura Studio" to develop next-generation console games.[29][30]

NetEase acquired Grasshopper Manufacture from GungHo Online Entertainment in October 2021, incorporating the developer within their NetEase Games division.[31]

In May 2022, NetEase opened its first US studio in Austin, Texas. It is called Jackalope Games, and is led by Jack Emmert, a veteran of massively multiplayer online role-playing games who worked on titles including City of Heroes, Neverwinter, Star Trek Online, and DC Universe Online. They will work on PC and console games and operate independently from NetEase.[32]

Toshihiro Nagoshi, Daisuke Sato, along with several other former Sega employees established a new studio called Nagoshi Studio, which will also be a part of their subsidiary.[33]

In July 2022, NetEase announced the establishment of a new studio, Jar Of Sparks, led by former 343 Industries employee Jerry Hook[34]

In July 2022, Polish VR studio Something Random announced that it had received an investment from NetEase.[35]

In August 2022, NetEase announced the acquisition of Quantic Dream after the 2019 minority investment done in the company. After this, the studio will become a subsidiary part of its parent company and will help NetEase objective to have more console game releases.[36]

In August 2022, Something Wicked Games founder Jeff Gardiner announced that NetEase had invested $13.2 Million in the studio.[37]

In October 2022, NetEase announced the establishment of GPTRACK50 Studio, a development company focused on console releases and led by former Capcom producer Hiroyuki Kobayashi as the president.[38]

In November 2022, NetEase announced that it had invested in Polish studio Rebel Wolves founded by Konrad Tomaszkiewicz.[39]

In November 2022, NetEase also announced it had invested in Norwegian fitness startup, PlayPulse.[40]

In November 2022, Stockholm-based studio Liquid Swords announced that NetEase had acquired a minority stake in the company.[41]

In January 2023, it was announced NetEase had acquired the Canadian studio, Skybox Labs.[42] In February, NetEase announced the founding of a new studio, Spliced.

In February 2023, it was announced that NetEase Games fund video game division in Gotanda, Tokyo known as "Studio Flare", co-founded by former vice-president of Marvelous, Toshinori Aoki and former producer of Arc System Works' BlazBlue series, Toshimichi Mori.[43]

In March 2023, NetEase launched the Anici anime brand to "support the anime industry", delivering a variety of animation together with various partners.[44]

In April 2023, NetEase announced the establishment of Anchor Point Studios in Barcelona.[45]

In May 2023, NetEase announced the establishment of Bad Brain Game Studios, a new game studio headquartered in Canada, with offices in Toronto, Ontario, and Montreal, Quebec. The studio is led by Sean Crooks, who previously worked on the Watch Dogs franchise and Driver: San Francisco. He is joined by a team of veteran developers who have worked on Far Cry 2, Child of Light, Just Dance, Army of Two, Splinter Cell: Conviction, and Splinter Cell: Blacklist, and more.[46] In the same month, NetEase Games announced the establishment of PinCool, a new game studio headquartered in Tokyo, Japan and led by representative director and president Ryutaro Ichimura, who is best known as a longtime producer in the Dragon Quest franchise.[47]

In August 2023, NetEase announced the establishment of T-Minus Zero Entertainment to develop an online multiplayer-focus sci-fi action game.[48]

In November 2023, NetEase announced the establishment of Fantastic Pixel Castle, a new remote studio led by Greg Street, formerly World of Warcraft lead systems designer at Blizzard Entertainment, as well as League of Legends executive producer at Riot Games.[49] At the same month, the company announced the establishment of a new studio called Worlds Untold, which is led by Mass Effect series writer Mac Walters with the first project being a near-future action adventure game.[50]

Partnerships

The company has a history of partnerships with other companies. In 2008, Blizzard Entertainment partnered with NetEase to bring some of their games to the Chinese market.[51] Both NetEase and Blizzard announced the suspension of most game services within Mainland China by January 2023 due to the expiration of current licensing agreement.[8] According to NetEast's statement on 17 November 2022, Overwatch 2, Diablo III, World of Warcraft, StarCraft, Hearthstone, and Heroes of the Storm will no longer receive service in mainland China on 23 January 2023, and will not be renewed.[9]

In April 2012, NetEase began testing a restaurant recommendation mobile app called "Fan Fan".[52][53] In 2017 NetEase made an agreement with the American company Marvel Comics to develop a comic based on a Chinese superhero. In addition 12 comic copies by Marvel would be released online, such as The Amazing Spider-Man, Captain America, and Guardians of the Galaxy.[27]

The company collaborated with coursera.org to provide Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) in China.[54] In 2014, NetEase launched an online course platform with educational content.[55]

Chinese government regulation

In October 2020, the Cyberspace Administration of China ordered NetEase to undergo "rectification" and temporarily suspended certain comment functions after censors found "inappropriate" comments on its news app.[56]

Gamers trying the new release of Speedy Ninja at PAX 2015

Games

NetEase publishes many games, including Fantasy Westward Journey, Cyber Hunter and Identity V.

Year Title Developer Publisher Notes
2001 Fantasy Westward Journey NetEase Games NetEase Games
2002 Westward Journey Online II NetEase Games NetEase Games
2015 Revelation Online NetEase Games NetEase Games
2017 Rules of Survival NetEase Games NetEase Games Discontinued on 27 June 2022
2018 Identity V NetEase Games NetEase Games
LifeAfter NetEase Games NetEase Games
Creative Destruction NetEase Games NetEase Games Discontinued on 27 June 2022
2019 Cyber Hunter NetEase Games NetEase Games
Sky Thatgamecompany NetEase Games Publisher in China only
Marvel Super War NetEase Games NetEase Games
Super Mecha Champions NetEase Games NetEase Games
2020 Marvel Duel NetEase Games NetEase Games
2021 Ace Racer NetEase Games NetEase Games
Naraka: Bladepoint 24 Entertainment NetEase Games
Astracraft NetEase Games 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 NetEase Games
Lost Light NetEase Games NetEase Games
2023 Dead by Daylight mobile Behaviour Interactive, NetEase Games Behaviour Interactive, NetEase NetEase as Publisher China only
TBA Racing Master Dahua Studios, Codemasters NetEase Games
Tom and Jerry: Chase NetEase Games NetEase Games
Harry Potter: Magic Awakened NetEase, Envoy Games NetEase Games, Portkey Games, Envoy Games
Once Human NetEase, Starry Studio NetEase Games, Starry Studio
Where Winds Meet Everstone Studio NetEase Games
Project: BloodStrike NetEase Games NetEase Games
Project: E.O.E NetEase Games NetEase Games
Project: EXTREME NetEase Games NetEase Games
Project Mugen NetEase Games

Naked Rain

 NetEase Games

Licensed online games

  • Three-year agreement to license Blizzard's title Overwatch in PRC[57]
  • Agreement to license Mojang's Minecraft and Minecraft: Pocket Edition in China[58]
    • Operated the Chinese third-party Minecraft Hypixel server (which shut down)[59]
  • Will assume the publishing of Eve Online in the Chinese market starting in October 2018[60]

Development studios

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

References

  1. ↑ "IR Contacts NetEase, Inc". ir.netease.com. Archived from the original on 19 April 2022. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "NetEase Reports Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year 2019 Unaudited Financial Results (PDF)". 26 February 2020. Archived from the original on 2 January 2022. Retrieved 4 May 2020.
  3. ↑ "Investor FAQs". Archived from the original on 22 March 2019. Retrieved 3 August 2018.
  4. ↑ "Tencent leads the top 25 public game companies with $10.2 billion in revenues | GamesBeat". venturebeat.com. Archived from the original on 30 May 2019. Retrieved 17 November 2017.
  5. ↑ Bao, Zhiming; Jia, Denise (21 September 2019). "Chinese Gaming Giant NetEase to Raise More Pigs". Caixin. Archived from the original on 24 September 2019. Retrieved 24 September 2019.
  6. ↑ "NetEase Q2 earnings beat expectations with online game services reversing downtrend - ChinaKnowledge". chinaknowledge.com. 9 August 2018. Archived from the original on 1 November 2021. Retrieved 14 March 2021.
  7. ↑ Minotti, Mike (11 January 2019). "Blizzard and NetEase extend Chinese publishing deal for Hearthstone, Overwatch, and more". Venture Beat. Archived from the original on 25 November 2021. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
  8. 1 2 "Blizzard Entertainment and NetEase Suspending Game Services in China". 16 November 2022. Archived from the original on 24 November 2022. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
  9. 1 2 Liao, Rita (17 November 2022). "Blizzard ends 14-year licensing deal with NetEase in China". TechCrunch. Archived from the original on 24 November 2022. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
  10. ↑ "Netease Search Engine - Youdao/yodao spider". Httpuseragent.org. 31 December 2008. Archived from the original on 9 July 2015. Retrieved 17 August 2012.
  11. ↑ "NetEase English Name Changes" (in Chinese). Sina.com. 29 March 2012. Archived from the original on 1 April 2012. Retrieved 29 March 2012.
  12. ↑ Lu Stout, Kristie (12 June 2001). "CNN.com - Key Netease executives call it quits". edition.cnn.com. Archived from the original on 16 January 2022. Retrieved 14 March 2021.
  13. ↑ Ong, Carolyn (9 June 2001). "Another suitor linked with NetEase buyout". South China Morning Post. Archived from the original on 14 March 2021.
  14. ↑ us Data Only (26 October 2011). "Siteanalytics.compete.com". Siteanalytics.compete.com. Archived from the original on 13 August 2011. Retrieved 17 August 2012.
  15. ↑ "Alexa Top 500 Global Sites". Archived from the original on 7 December 2015. Retrieved 15 April 2010.
  16. ↑ 李, 志强 (10 April 2018). "今日头条、凤凰新闻、网易新闻、天天快报4款APP被下架-新华网". 新华网. Archived from the original on 14 April 2018. Retrieved 1 October 2021.
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  18. ↑ NetEase Q2 2017: Revenue Grows to $2 Billion, Games Generate $1.4bn Archived 21 May 2018 at the Wayback Machine, Chris Wray, WCCFTECH, 10 August 2017
  19. ↑ 张, 天磊 (10 December 2020). "网易传媒全新知识短视频内容消费品牌网易新闻"知识公路"正式发布". 中国日报中文网 (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 1 October 2021. Retrieved 1 October 2021.
  20. ↑ 黎, 小明 (9 April 2018). "七麦数据（原ASO100）-专业移动产品商业分析平台-ASO-ASM优化". 七麦数据 (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 1 October 2021. Retrieved 1 October 2021.
  21. ↑ "Riot Games Has Sued Chinese Game Company Netease for Copyright Infringement – Valorant 'Copy'". Victor Marquez. Archived from the original on 21 December 2022. Retrieved 9 December 2022.
  22. ↑ "Riot Games sues NetEase for alleged Valorant imitation". Tekato Longkumer. Archived from the original on 12 December 2022. Retrieved 11 December 2022.
  23. ↑ "NetEase North America". www.netease-na.com. Archived from the original on 3 June 2019. Retrieved 16 October 2015.
  24. ↑ "Hong "Kong Bourse Discusses New Listings With Ctrip, Netease". Bloomberg News.
  25. ↑ "Bungie gets more than $100 million investment from NetEase". GamesIndustry.biz. 1 June 2018. Archived from the original on 9 November 2020. Retrieved 1 June 2018.
  26. ↑ "AURORA44 LIMITED (4672299) Registered". New Zealand Companies Office. 17 December 2018. Archived from the original on 28 October 2021. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
  27. 1 2 Zen Soo; Zheping Huang (13 December 2018). "Chinese gaming giant NetEase sells comics business to rival Bilibili, retains rights to Marvel series". South China Morning Post. Archived from the original on 19 May 2019. Retrieved 20 May 2019.
  28. ↑ McWhertor, Michael (29 January 2019). "Quantic Dream receives investment from NetEase to develop next-gen games". Polygon. Archived from the original on 29 January 2019. Retrieved 29 January 2019.
  29. ↑ [NetEase Games has today announced the establishment of 🌸"Sakura Studio"🌸 ..] (press release), NetEase, 5 June 2020, archived from the original on 26 February 2022
  30. ↑ Kerr, Chris (5 June 2020), "Chinese game company NetEase has opened a new studio in Japan", gamasutra.com, archived from the original on 5 August 2020, retrieved 6 July 2020
  31. ↑ Romano, Sal (21 October 2021). "NetEase Games acquires Grasshopper Manufacture". Gematsu. Archived from the original on 22 October 2021. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
  32. ↑ "China's gaming giant NetEase opens first US studio in Austin". TechCrunch. Retrieved 5 May 2022.
  33. ↑ "Nagoshi Studio". Archived from the original on 28 February 2022. Retrieved 24 January 2022.
  34. ↑ Bailey, Kat (18 July 2022). "Xbox Pioneer Forms Jar Of Sparks, New Studio Dedicated To AAA Action-Adventure Games". IGN. Archived from the original on 17 May 2023. Retrieved 17 May 2023.
  35. ↑ "NetEase Invests in Polish VR Studio Something Random". 80.lv. 6 July 2022. Archived from the original on 18 May 2023. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
  36. ↑ "NetEase Games acquires Quantic Dream". 31 August 2022. Archived from the original on 2 September 2022. Retrieved 31 August 2022.
  37. ↑ "Former Bethesda lead Jeff Gardiner debuts new studio Something Wicked". The Washington Post. 23 August 2022. ISSN 0190-8286. Archived from the original on 2 December 2022. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
  38. ↑ "NetEase Games establishes GPTRACK50 - Osaka-based studio led by former Capcom producer Hiroyuki Kobayashi". Gematsu. 31 October 2022. Archived from the original on 1 November 2022. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
  39. ↑ "Rebel Wolves acquires strategic investment from NetEase Games". Gematsu. 22 November 2022. Archived from the original on 18 May 2023. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
  40. ↑ "PlayPulse receives investment from NetEase Games". playpulse.com. 23 November 2022. Archived from the original on 18 May 2023. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
  41. ↑ "Press Release: Liquid Swords Announces Investment From NetEase Games — Liquid Swords". www.liquidswords.com. Archived from the original on 17 May 2023. Retrieved 17 May 2023.
  42. ↑ "NetEase has acquired Skybox Labs". Eurogamer.net. 7 January 2023. Archived from the original on 7 January 2023. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
  43. ↑ Romano, Sal (27 February 2023). "Tokyo-based Studio Flare established with BlazBlue series' Toshimichi Mori as development producer". Gematsu. Archived from the original on 28 February 2023. Retrieved 28 February 2023.
  44. ↑ Mateo, Alex (27 March 2023). "NetEase Games Launches Anici Anime Brand". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on 28 March 2023. Retrieved 28 March 2023.
  45. ↑ "NetEase opens Anchor Point Games in Barcelona and Seattle". VentureBeat. 26 April 2023. Archived from the original on 18 May 2023. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
  46. ↑ "NetEase Games establishes Canada-based Bad Brain Game Studios". Gematsu. 23 May 2023. Archived from the original on 23 May 2023. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
  47. ↑ "NetEase Games establishes Tokyo-based game studio PinCool led by Ryutaro Ichimura". Gematsu. 29 May 2023. Archived from the original on 30 May 2023. Retrieved 30 May 2023.
  48. ↑ "NetEase Games establishes Austin-based T-Minus Zero Entertainment to develop online multiplayer-focus sci-fi action game". Gematsu. 17 August 2023. Retrieved 17 November 2023.
  49. ↑ "NetEase Games establishes new studio Fantastic Pixel Castle to develop AAA MMO". Gematsu. 2 November 2023. Retrieved 17 November 2023.
  50. ↑ "NetEase Games establishes new studio Worlds Untold led by Mass Effect series writer Mac Walters". Gematsu. 16 November 2023. Retrieved 17 November 2023.
  51. ↑ Futter, Mike (11 January 2019). "Blizzard and NetEase extend Chinese publishing partnership for World of Warcraft, Diablo, more". GameDaily.biz. Archived from the original on 18 April 2021. Retrieved 14 March 2021.
  52. ↑ "Follow news on Netease.com, Inc" (Press release). BrightWire. Archived from the original on 19 January 2013. Retrieved 17 August 2012.
  53. ↑ "Netease Begins Testing for Mobile App "Fan Fan" on Thursday". BrightWire. Archived from the original on 27 July 2012.
  54. ↑ "Coursera partners with NetEase to deliver free online learning in China". Archived from the original on 23 October 2013. Retrieved 22 October 2013.
  55. ↑ Xiang, Tracey (24 April 2014). "NetEase Adds an Online Course Platform to Its Education Offerings". TechNode. Archived from the original on 1 March 2021. Retrieved 14 March 2021.
  56. ↑ "China's internet censorship goes far beyond the Great Firewall". South China Morning Post. 16 October 2020. Archived from the original on 8 November 2020. Retrieved 11 November 2020.
  57. ↑ "NetEase - Fact Sheet". ir.netease.com. Archived from the original on 22 March 2019. Retrieved 16 October 2015.
  58. ↑ "Minecraft is coming to China". mojang.com. 10 November 2021. Archived from the original on 10 July 2019. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
  59. ↑ "Hypixel is coming to China". Hypixel - Minecraft Server and Maps. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
  60. ↑ "The Next Step For EVE China & Serenity – Announcing Partnership With NetEase!". EVE Online. Archived from the original on 1 August 2018. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
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