NetEase closes Bad Brain Game Studios and Fantastic Pixel Castle

NetEase is officially shutting down two game studios on Nov. 17: Bad Brain Studios and Fantastic Pixel Castle. Both studios were funded by NetEase. Bad Brain Studios was creating The Midnight Riders, an action-adventure game inspired by the 80s. The game and its underlying IP are available for acquisition or partnership, with Bad Brain Game Studios and NetEase hoping to secure a new publisher to continue development. 

As for Ghost, the title that was being developed by Fantastic Pixel Castle, the state of the game remains unknown. Fantastic Pixel Castle was headed by Greg Street, a game designer who previously worked on World of Warcraft and the untitled League of Legends MMO at Riot Games. 

The studio closures are a part of the company’s recalibration of its global strategy, shifting away from Western investment, with Western developers reportedly having higher salaries and development costs compared to their Chinese counterparts. Other studios that closed their doors are Worlds Untold, Jar of Sparks, and T-Minus Zero Entertainment. These studios were closed earlier this year, with Fantastic Pixel Castle and Bad Brain Studios closing Nov. 17.