Blog: Netease

Since the beginning of 2023, NetEase has been rapidly announcing new studios, averaging one per month. These have either been established internally, or acquired. - It acquired SkyBox Labs (Canadian games studio) in January - It announced Spliced in February (a global remote-first studio with offices in the UK, but employees in US, Canada, UK, and ‘beyond’) - It took a short break in March but announced two new studios in May - In April, it announced Anchor Point Studios (based in Spain) - In May, it announced Bad Brain Studios (based in Canada) - Most recently announced PinCool Inc (based in Japan) The cadence of these announcements has positioned NetEase as one of the world’s most active companies in terms of 2023 studio expansion.

As a result of the new guidelines set out by the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC), record labels are no longer allowed to issue exclusive licenses to music services. Previously, music services in China were able to secure exclusive deals with record labels which meant that these services could then sub-license to other platforms in the region for an additional licensing fee.