NetEase fires executives accused of money laundering

Nine employees of NetEase Gamesa Chinese publisher and developer of various AAA games, has reportedly been fired after being arrested on bribery and money laundering charges. Among those arrested are two senior NetEase Games executives, Xiang Lang and Jin Yuchen. NetEase Games is a well-known Chinese publisher and developer that has previously worked with companies like Blizzard and Bungie on games like Diablo Immortal And Destiny: Ascension on the cell phone. The company's newer products include: Marvel Rivals And Once human.

NetEase was founded by Ding Lei in 1997, initially as a technology company that then expanded into other ventures such as video games. This started in 2020 with the company launching a video game division, acquiring developers like Grasshopper Manufacture, and hiring big gaming industry veterans like former Sega employees Toshihiro Nagoshi and Daisuke Sato. Other studios like Spliced ​​also opened in 2023 and were founded by former Marvelous vice president Toshinori Aoki BlazBlue Creator Toshimichi Mori. Given its rapid growth, some NetEase employees have recently been the subject of an investigation, including two high-ranking employees of the company.

In an internal memo to its employees (first documented by Chinese website Leifeng and reported by Bloomberg Law), NetEase revealed that it has since fired a total of nine employees over alleged bribery. The names of these affected employees appear to have been removed from NetEase's internal systems. The accused include NetEase Games general manager Xiang Lang, as well as Jin Yuchen, NetEase's former head of esports for games like the upcoming one Marvel Rivals.

9 NetEase Games employees arrested

NetEase Games' internal investigation is still ongoing, but Leifeng points out that it involves employee purchasing traffic. This is believed to be a contract involving 28 of the mega-corporation's suppliers, in one case worth around one to two billion yuan, roughly between $140 million and $279 million. Shortly after the arrests, employees still employed by NetEase reported that their usual computer screen savers had been replaced with reminders of the company's compliance protocols.

Based on what is known, this is the second internal anti-corruption investigation that NetEase has conducted, the previous one taking place in September 2023. A spokesperson for NetEase said police are investigating alleged corruption allegations, although no details have been released at this time. As for the games that are in development at the company, NetEase is working on them Project Mugenan urban fantasy open-world RPG inspired by a number of other titles such as Grand Theft Autoand is currently in development for PC, PS5 and mobile phones Where winds meetis scheduled to appear in 2025.

The apocalypse changed everything. People, animals, plants… everyone is attacked by an alien creature – Stardust. As a metahuman, you can survive the contamination and harness the power of stardust. Play alone or join others to fight, build and explore. When the world is in chaos, you are our last hope.

You wake up in the middle of nowhere. You have to prepare for the cruelty of nature (from monsters to lack of food); However, Stardust's influence is not limited to living things, it also affects soil and water. Eating contaminated food and drinking dirty water affects your mental health. As your Sanity decreases, your maximum HP also decreases accordingly. To eat or not to eat, that is a question.

Fight numerous enemies that were once humans and challenge bosses from another dimension to obtain powerful items and reduce stardust pollution. They fight not only for themselves, but also for the survivors.

Survive

Protect

Open world

Released

July 9, 2024

developer

Star Studio

Publisher)

Starry Studio, NetEase, Inc.

Multiplayer

Online multiplayer, online co-op

Motor

Once a human engine

ESRB

T

OpenCritic review

Strong

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