Chinese giant NetEase, best known for its online games in Asia, is not associated with a major narrative-driven video game. This is the goal of his new Bad Brain studio, announced on Tuesday, whose Montreal and Toronto offices will be dedicated to an original franchise, an open world full of horror and adventure inspired by cult films from the 80s.
Posted at 1:01 p.m
This superb production, technically an “AAA”, aims to be consistent with heavily scripted works à la God of War, The Last of Us and The Legend of Zelda. A somewhat irreverent YouTube launch video gives a glimpse into the spirit of the new Bad Brain studio. A CEO who capitalizes on the payment trends of the moment—metaverse, non-fungible tokens, and aggressive monetization—sees his people’s brains explode and break free.
“We wanted to do something out of the ordinary, have fun with industry trends, have fun with ourselves,” says Guillaume Apesteguy, creative director at Bad Brain Game Studios. For us it is a real passion project, with NetEase we had the chance to meet a partner who allows us to be creatively free without having immediate pressure. »
Free creators wanted
With around 31,000 employees and sales of almost 14 billion US dollars in 2022, NetEase is the number two in video games in China behind Tencent. Its catalog of 24 active games, out of hundreds produced since its inception in 1997, mainly includes mobile and PC games that are very popular in Asia. Knives Out, Naraka: Bladepoint and Identity V are the best known. However, the Chinese giant does not hide its intention to test the more prestigious but riskier market of big storytelling games, notably by acquiring Quantic Dream, developer of the storytelling jewels Detroit: Become Human and Beyond: Two Souls, in August 2022.
Led by Sean Crooks, who spent 12 years producing games like Watch Dogs and Just Dance at Ubisoft Montreal, Toronto and the UK, the group of veterans recruited for Bad Brain were won over by NetEase’s approach, says Mr Apesteguy. “Their first question was, ‘What game do you want to make?’ For them, it’s an opportunity to give Canadian creatives the freedom to express themselves. We believe this is the best way to have quality games and motivated teams that are passionate about what they want to create. »
Between Spielberg and King
About twenty people make up Bad Brain’s starting team, which is split equally between Montreal and Toronto with no specialization. The final team size and the start date have not yet been determined. “It’s still relatively early in the creative process,” replies the creative director. Developing an open world game takes time. Being 100% owned by NetEase brings “a degree of financial security while giving us creative autonomy,” he says.
Bad Brain’s first game is “a meeting between Steven Spielberg and Stephen King,” he summarizes, in the same ’80s style of the Stranger Things series with its music and cult films. “We all grew up with that as a team. If we want to touch the players, it has to touch us. »
This game will not be of the “persistent universe” type, he specifies, which makes the studios’ mouths water with its promise of regular revenues. “We are more focused on delivering quality than quantity. We prefer the player to have an unforgettable experience rather than necessarily trying to get more of their time. »
NetEase in brief
- Headquarters in Hangzhou, China
- 31,119 employees as of December 31, 2022
- Market value of $56.5 billion
- Net sales of $13.99 billion in 2022, net income of $2.9 billion
- Opened his first studio in Montreal in 2019
- Owns minority interest in Behavior Interactive (Montreal) and 100% interest in Quantic Dream (Montreal and Paris).