The studio was owned by NetEase for 5 years.
After five years under NetEase’s umbrella, Grasshopper Manufacture is declaring its independence. The studio is best known for its franchises Lollipop Chainsaw, Killer7, and, most recently, ROMERO IS A DEAD MAN.
As spotted by Gematsu, Grasshopper Manufacture chief executive Goichi Suda announced the studio’s split from NetEase today. Suda said that, after completing work on ROMERO IS A DEAD MAN, Grasshopper “found a strong desire to deliver titles in an even wider variety of styles to video game lovers everywhere,” which led them to “move forward as an independent developer once again.”
“This decision was reached after thorough discussions with NetEase Games, and with their generous cooperation. We continue to cherish the amazing relationship our companies have built, and look forward to further collaboration when the opportunity arises,” Suda said.
Furthermore, Suda said that Grasshopper remains committed to the “‘NO GAME NO LIFE’ gaming experience” expected from the company, and that it has advanced its self-publishing expertise over the years enough to warrant an independent path.
While the executive speaks positively of NetEase, I have a feeling this could have been related to that publisher’s decisions to suddenly pull funding or cancel projects outright, resulting in unfortunate cases like former Yakuza dev’s Gang of Dragon starring Don Lee.
At any rate, Grasshopper likely has a bright future ahead of them. They are developing multimedia franchises with movie adaptations of Lollipop Chainsaw and aiming to branch out into international markets as a prominent developer and publisher, and I would be the happiest to see them succeed.
Writer. Joined the Robot Side in 2025. Been in the field for five years. English Major. Kojima enthusiast. Cormac McCarthy fan.
سەرچاوەی فەرمی بە زمانی ئینگلیزی: https://www.destructoid.com/grasshopper-manufacture-goes-independent/
