NetEase, one of China’s leading Internet and online game services providers, has announced plans to introduce a host of new PC and mobile games. The announcement was made at NetEase’s inaugural “5/20 Game Enthusiasts’ Day,” held on May 20 in Beijing. The event celebrated 15 years of gamers’ passion for NetEase games with major highlights from the Company’s flagship titles and recent successes on both PC and mobile platforms.
A key component of NetEase’s mobile game strategy is a focus on mobile games based on the Company’s acclaimed self-developed franchises, such as Fantasy Westward Journey and Tianxia. Since its launch in late March of this year, the Fantasy Westward Journey mobile game has successfully gained the No. 1 top grossing app spot in the iOS China app store and recently reached a new record peak concurrent user count of 2 million. Building further on this success, NetEase announced that it is developing Fantasy Westward Journey: Warriors, an exciting mobile action adventure game, and The X-World, an action-packed mobile ARPG game from the Tianxia universe. NetEase also plans to introduce original mobile games such as a cartoon-style side-scrolling mobile game called Fairy Tales: The World of the Brave and a history-themed mobile game called 100 Heroes.
NetEase revealed that a number of licensed mobile games are in the works also, including the highly popular 3D RPG Kai-ri-sei Million Arthur from SQUARE ENIX CO., LTD. and 3D multiplayer ARPG Chronoblade from U.S. game developers nWay. NetEase also intends to bring back the Richman franchise with Richman 9, in partnership with Softstar Entertainment Inc. Moreover, the Company discussed plans to develop several mobile titles based on famous works from other media, such as Kung Fu Panda, to be developed in a strategic partnership with Oriental DreamWorks, Warner Brothers’ classic Tom and Jerry, well-known Chinese writer Jingming Guo’s Tiny Times novels, and Gu Long’s popular series of martial arts novels.
The event moreover featured the Company’s forthcoming plans for PC games. Open beta testing of Hegemon-King of Western Chu was announced to commence on May 21, 2015. Two new PC games under development, 3D action MOBA Wildfire and real-time battle action The War, were highlighted for their unique twists on classic game genres. NetEase also declared its intention to publish free, online manga and anime based on NetEase’s existing PC game franchises.
“We are thrilled to host this exclusive event for gamers and excited to showcase the major game titles that we have been working on. The game industry in China is thriving, and our strategy to introduce new best-in-class and diverse mobile and PC games continues to delight our growing community of players. By establishing May 20 as ‘Game Enthusiasts’ Day,’ we are providing a forum for celebrating gamers, and we expect this annual conference to become one of the most influential events in China’s gaming industry,” said Mr. William Ding, Chief Executive Officer and Director of NetEase.
Source: NetEase
