New AAA RPG Dev Rebel Wolves Secures 'Strategic Investment' From Chinese Juggernaut NetEase

Adding to the pack

by Robert Ramsey Tue 22nd Nov 2022

Back near the start of the year, we reported on a freshly opened studio named Rebel Wolves. Based in Warsaw, Poland, the developer is creating a 'AAA' dark fantasy RPG for "next-gen consoles", with some of its team having previously worked on titles like The Witcher 3 and Cyberpunk 2077 at CD Projekt Red.

Going by the initial announcement, it was clear that the company was only just getting started. It's been hiring new staff ever since, and, as it turns out, seeking investment.

A fresh press release reveals that Chinese tech giant NetEase has made a "strategic investment" in Rebel Wolves, making it a shareholder and a partner of the budding studio. For those who may not know, NetEase Games — the gaming arm of NetEase, as the name suggests — is an absolute juggernaut in the mobile and PC gaming spaces, specifically in its native China. On top of that, NetEase has been investing in and partnering with foreign companies for years now.

"Funding provided by NetEase was the last missing piece needed to go full throttle. With resources available to build a world-class AAA game, we can now focus on what matters most: development," says Rebel Wolves boss Konrad Tomaszkiewicz. Proper information on the aforementioned AAA RPG has been promised for 2023.

What do you make of all this? Wait a few years for our first look at gameplay in the comments section below.

1
Milktastrophe
Tue 22nd Nov 2022

There's not really anything to make of this. We need more info about their game to decide whether it sounds fun.

2
ChrisDeku
Tue 22nd Nov 2022

Wasn’t this company formed by some of the guys that got forced out of CDPR under accusations of creating a toxic workplace and bullying claims?

Taking the Chinese money now too, interesting.

3
BeerIsAwesome
Tue 22nd Nov 2022

Funny thing about NetEase and Tencent is that they've been shackled heavily in China by their own government. The government has refused new game classifications and investment in new games. No such restrictions exist outside of the country. So now you have a company obviously flush with money, and nothing to spend it on. So this is what we'll be seeing from the big Chinese juggernauts for the foreseeable future.