Overview
- Grasshopper Manufacture announced Wednesday that it has formally split from parent company NetEase Games and is operating as an independent developer again.
- CEO Goichi “Suda51” Suda said the decision followed thorough talks with NetEase and described the company’s cooperation as generous while expressing a wish to keep open future collaboration.
- The studio said it has improved its self-publishing know-how and now has a broad range of publishing options to support more varied projects and greater creative freedom.
- The move follows the studio’s February release of Romeo Is a Dead Man and comes as NetEase has reduced overseas investments, a pullback that has led to closures, funding cuts, and divestments at several international studios.
- Grasshopper has previously said it aimed to release another game in 2026, but the company has not confirmed that project’s status and its publishing path remains unannounced.