No More Heroes developer Grasshopper Manufacture acquired by NetEase

No More Heroes developer Grasshopper Manufacture has been acquired by NetEase for an undisclosed fee.

Studio founder Goichi Suda broke the news on Twitter, explaining the Japanese company "has moved from the GungHo Group to the NetEase Group."

An additional announcement on the Grasshopper website explained it will be joining NetEase under an equity transfer agreement that was signed on May 31, 2021.

The studio, which celebrated its 23rd anniversary in March this year, said the switch will present "new possibilities in game creation."

"When talking with NetEase about 'developing more unique console games together,' we resonated. After a lot of thoughts, we’ve unanimously decided to 'get together' in the long term through deeper cooperation to create more good content for gamers," said Suda.

"NetEase Games understands the strengths of Grasshopper Manufacture and is willing to support us, and is an extremely reliable partner."

Suda added that Grasshopper will retain creative control of its projects to maintain "the consistent Grasshopper Manufacture flavour," explaining that NetEase will mainly offer business advice and funding support. The studio is currently working on three unannounced projects, which will release over the next decade.

"We will make the most of this support and strive to offer three even higher-quality 'Grasshopper Manufacture Games' to all gamers in the next ten years," continued Suda. "Grasshopper Manufacture, moving towards the brand-new future of game development, is now reborn and will continue to create history. Stay tuned."