NetEase (NASDAQ: NTES) has announced that its Beijing-based NetEase Capital Venture arm will invest $2.5 million in Helsinki-based developer Reforged Studios.
Reforged was formed earlier this year, and is made up of industry veterans who have worked with Riot Games, Electronic Arts, Blizzard Entertainment, DICE, Games Workshop, Ubisoft, LucasArts, and more.
Reforged is currently working on its first game, an "epic fantasy army battler", and is aiming for release sometime in 2016.
"At Reforged we bring together a wealth of experience in core gaming and passion for evocative world-building," said Teemu Vilén, CEO of Reforged Studios.
"Our creative vision is unique and ambitious in the high-quality competitive gaming space,”
“Gaming is undergoing unprecedented growth and exciting changes. The partnership with NetEase, a company with tremendous experience on PC and mobile worldwide, allows us to be a part of the future of gaming globally.”
Unprecedented growth
"The leadership and talent that came together to form Reforged Studios really attracted us to make a strategic investment in them," said Amy Huang, Assistant Vice President of NetEase Capital.
"We continue to aggressively pursue our vision for globalization and expansion westward based on our successes in Asia, and the Reforged partnership is a key step for us in that direction."
NetEase certainly has the money to be throwing around on new developers, having posted a 63% revenue increase in Q2 in 2015.