No More Heroes’ Grasshopper Manufacture Joins NetEase

Grasshopper Manufacture, the game studio behind No More Heroes, announced that it is officially joining NetEase after an equity transfer agreement was signed earlier this year. Under the agreement, NetEase games will be in charge of business planning and game development funding. Additionally, Grasshopper Manufacture states that it aims to produce three “even higher-quality” games in the next ten years. [Thanks, Wario64!]

The two parties signed the equity transfer agreement on May 31, 2021. Grasshopper Manufacture states that the agreement will allow the studio to create more good content for gamers through deeper cooperation. Furthermore, it states that Grasshopper Manufacture will still be in charge of the creative and production side of its games. However, NetEase will also provide support in the form of game art and quality assurance experts.

Announcement on Grasshopper Manufacture Inc. Joining NetEase Games.
For more information, please visit our official website.https://t.co/Il3uYWoDcJ

— Grasshopper Manufacture (@Grasshopper_EN) October 22, 2021

NetEase Games is a China-based publisher behind games like Identity V and Knives Out. Recently, the company has been actively collaborating with other media franchises such as Detective Conan and Resident Evil. Earlier reports claimed that NetEase was looking to expand into narrative-heavy consumer titles. While not yet confirmed, NetEase was reportedly in “final negotiations” with Yakuza creator Toshihiro Nagoshi who left SEGA soon after the Bloomberg report.

Grasshopper Manufacture’s most recent release, No More Heroes 3, is immediately available on the Nintendo Switch.