NetEase Games, one of China’s biggest gaming companies, is seeing major leadership changes. Simon Zhu, who led NetEase’s global investments and first-party studios, announced he is leaving after 12 years.
Zhu helped NetEase invest in big names like Bungie, Niantic, and Devolver. His exit seems to follow NetEase’s decision to pull back on new game investments, led by CEO William Ding, as reported by Bloomberg.
“To the developers, leaders, colleagues, and partners who placed their trust in me all these years: thank you. My watch has ended, but my heart is full of gratitude for this chapter and optimism for our shared future,” Simon Zhu wrote in his post.
Ken Li, who managed NetEase’s partnership with Blizzard, will now take over Zhu’s vacant role as the President of Global Investments and Partnerships.
Other big names have also left recently. Matthew Weissinger, who oversaw PC and console game publishing in North America, left in March. Matthew Liu, a marketing lead for global mobile games, also resigned this month.
Meanwhile, Jin Tao, the producer behind the successful Onmyoji game, shared plans to focus more on maintaining the game and cutting teams that aren’t performing well. NetEase has been reducing jobs and shutting down several studios in recent months to increase profits.
Studios in Japan, Canada, and the US were either closed or stopped work. Despite all the changes, NetEase said it is still committed to expanding its games globally.