NetEase has closed down yet another of its studios before its first release, and this time, it’s the turn of Bad Brain Game Studios, which was helmed by ex-Ubisoft producer Sean Crooks.
Announcing the shutdown on LinkedIn, Bad Brain, which was first established back in 2023, says that its last day of operation will be November 17th, and that while the studio is trying to find a new partner for its debut project, it has not yet managed to do so.
Bad Brain says that its game and the associated IP are both “still available for acquisition or partnership”, and that the studio, as well as parent NetEase, is “open to discussions with publishers or studios who see potential in continuing its development”.
To the end of helping former Bad Brain staffers find work, the studio also posted a sizzle reel of its in-development project alongside the LinkedIn post announcing its closure. The game, according to Bad Brain, was met with an “enthusiastic response” by peers and industry insiders.
From the looks of the sizzle reel, the untitled game would have been a third-person action-adventure game inspired by the likes of Stranger Things and Rockstar’s Bully, juxtaposing ordinary 80s life with delving into spooky locations to do battle with creepy-crawlies.
Bad Brain is the latest in a string of NetEase-backed studios to lose their funding or close down in recent months. Others include T-Minus Zero Entertainment, which was founded by ex-BioWare vet Rich Vogel, and Worlds Untold, another ex-BioWare staffer’s studio.
It’s not just studios that haven’t released games, either. In February, NetEase closed down the development outfit responsible for the hugely successful Marvel Rivals, so it seems that nobody is safe.
These shutdowns are taking place against the backdrop of an industry riven with layoffs, project cancellations, and studio closures, and there’s no sign of the deluge ending anytime soon. Stay tuned for more.
