Netease Closes A Fifth Western Studio: Just Two Years After It Was...

Bad Brain was founded in August 2023, but NetEase opted to end its partnership with the studio just two years later.

Just three days after Greg Street confirmed that Fantastic Pixel Castle is closing due to the loss of NetEase funding, yet another NetEase-backed studio says it's suffered the same fate. Bad Brain Game Studios, founded in 2023 and headed up by former Ubisoft Toronto lead producer Sean Crooks, announced today that it will close its doors on November 17—the same day as Fantastic Pixel Castle—after being unable to find a new source of funding.

"Despite our continuing efforts to seek a new partner for the project, a path forward has yet to materialize," Crooks wrote in a LinkedIn farewell. "We are deeply grateful to NetEase Games for their support and for giving us runway to explore every possible opportunity. Our team poured everything into this journey—pushing creative and technical boundaries every day with passion, imagination, and craft. What we achieved together stands as lasting proof of this team’s extraordinary talent.

"The enthusiastic response our project has received is a direct reflection of that creativity and dedication. While the outcome may not be what we had hoped for, I’ve seen firsthand that we succeeded in reaching players and peers who believed in what we were building. To those who supported the game, shared encouragement, and championed our vision—thank you."

Crooks also posted a sizzle reel from Bad Brain's in-development project, Midnight Riders, and said "game and its underlying IP is still available for acquisition or partnership, and we/NetEase are open to discussions with publishers or studios who see potential in continuing its development."

Bad Brain is the fifth Western studio to be closed by NetEase over the past year, following Fantastic Pixel Castle, T-Minus Zero (which was recently resurrected by some of its founding members), Jar of Sparks, and Worlds Untold.

Daniel Ahmad, the director of research and insights at analysis firm Niko Partners, said on social media that NetEase's stunning turnaround reflects "a broader trend across the industry where North America based studios are no longer seen as a safe bet."

Ahmad dove deeper into the topic earlier this year, following cuts among Marvel Rivals developers at NetEase's studio in Seattle. While increased "geopolitical risks" are a factor, Ahmad said the massive success of Black Myth: Wukong, one of the biggest games of 2024, was also a "major turning po

Source: PC Gamer