NetEase is shutting down Ouka Studios, the developer of Visions of Mana, according to a new Bloomberg report. Nearly all the employees have been fired already, starting as early as this Spring, and the plan is to fully close Ouka soon. The studio had been founded just four years ago by industry veterans who previously worked at Bandai Namco and CAPCOM.
Bloomberg also says that this is just one instance of a wider reduction in investments in Japanese studios by NetEase as well as another major Chinese publisher, Tencent. Both of the Chinese companies have been reportedly frustrated with the progress on their existing Japanese investments and, following the incredible success of Black Myth: Wukong, are wondering if they shouldn't invest more domestically instead. Bernstein analyst Robin Zhu said to Bloomberg:
We may be approaching a point where Tencent and NetEase begin to scrutinize their returns more closely. Globally, the video gaming industry has retrenched post-Covid, and many large publishers have reduced headcount or scaled back investments. Anecdotally, the Japanese developers’ desire to tightly control what can be done with their IP has sometimes been a source of friction.
Visions of Mana was just launched on PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series S|X, and Nintendo Switch. Published by Square Enix, it earned a 7.5 out of 10 score here on Wccftech. Here's an extract from the review penned by Kai Tatsumoto:
Overall, Visions of Mana is a solid entry in the storied tales of the Mana Tree that action RPG fans will appreciate. While there are some pacing issues and overall padding to the game’s length, players will have little complaint about the title’s length for a series that traditionally wraps up by the 15-20 hour mark. It may not be the most memorable tale of the Mana Tree, but it certainly offers the most enjoyable combat to date.
About the author: With over two decades of experience in gaming journalism, Alessio Palumbo has led the gaming vertical at Wccftech since August 2015. He started working at a young age for Italian websites like Everyeye.it, Gamestar.it, Nextgame.it, and Multiplayer.it before kickstarting the indie English-language publication Worlds Factory as its founder and Editor in Chief. In the last decade, he has coordinated the overall output of Wccftech's gaming section, managed PR relations, assigned reviews, produced daily news coverage, edited gaming content as needed, and delivered game reviews. Arguably, his trademark content is the long series of exclusive developer interviews that have been cited by Wikipedia and by the biggest news media and gaming publications. His passion for technology also makes him knowledgeable when it comes to gaming hardware and tech. His favorite genres include RPGs, MMORPGs, and action/adventure games.
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