Veteran Capcom producer Hiroyuki Kobayashi has joined NetEase after leaving the Japanese publisher.
Kobayashi broke the news on Twitter, explaining he left Capcom in March this year after 27 years with the company. He’ll be joining Netease as a producer and pledged to share more details about his new role in the future.
During his time at Capcom, he worked as a producer on major franchises including Devil May Cry, Mega Man, and Resident Evil. Moving forward, he has promised to create more “enjoyable entertainment experiences.”
NetEase has expanded significantly in recent months, making a series of notable investments, acquisitions, and hires. The Chinese company, which recently helped Blizzard bring Diablo Immortal to China, formed a new studio in July called Jar of Sparks that’s being led by former Halo Infinite design lead Jerry Hook.
Earlier this year, it sunk millions into Polish VR studio Something Random and tapped Yakuza director Toshihiro Nagoshi to form a new studio under the NetEase banner. Prior to that, it also acquired No More Heroes developer Grasshopper Manufacture.
The company’s expansion comes as video game regulations in China tighten, with new rules being ushered in to restrict playtime for younger players. New game approvals have also reportedly been stuttering in recent months, affecting some of the country’s biggest game companies such as Tencent and NetEase.
