NetEase Fires Executives Accused of Money Laundering

by

Key things

  • Nine NetEase Games employees were reportedly fired for bribery and money laundering, including top executives.
  • The investigation involves alleged purchases from 28 suppliers worth $140-279 million.
  • NetEase is developing the Mugen and Where Winds Meet project amid an ongoing anti-corruption investigation.



Nine employees from NetEase Gamesa Chinese publisher and developer of various AAA games, have reportedly been fired after being arrested on bribery and money laundering charges. Among those arrested are two senior members of NetEase Games, Xiang Lang and Jin Yuchen. NetEase Games is a well-known Chinese publisher and developer that has previously worked with companies such as Blizzard and Bungie for games such as Diablo Immortal and Destiny: Rising on mobile. Some of the company's more recent outputs include Marvel Rivals and Once a Man.

NetEase was first founded in 1997 by Ding Lei, first as a technology company and then expanded into other businesses such as video games. It began in 2020, when the company established a video game division, acquired developers such as Grasshopper Manufacture, and hired major gaming industry veterans such as former Sega employees Toshihiro Nagoshi and Daisuke Sato. In 2023, other studios such as Spliced, founded by former Vice President of Marvelous Toshinori Aoki and BlazBlue creator Toshimichi Mori. Amid its rapid growth, several NetEase employees have recently been part of the investigation, including two senior members of the company.


harry potter: magic awakened sad trend of harry potter games

Related

Harry Potter: Magic Awakened continues the sad 3-year trend of Harry Potter games

Harry Potter: Magic Awakened, a 2021 mobile game from NetEase, is the latest victim of the ill-fated Harry Potter game trend.

In an internal memo to its employees (first noted by Chinese site Leifeng and reported by Bloomberg Law), NetEase announced that it has since fired a total of nine employees over alleged bribery. The names of these implicated employees have apparently been removed from NetEase's internal systems. Among those implicated is NetEase Games general manager Xiang Lang, along with Jin Yuchen, NetEase's former head of esports in games such as the upcoming Marvel Rivals.


9 employees arrested at NetEase Games


NetEase Games' internal investigation is still ongoing, but Leifeng notes that it revolves around employee shopping traffic. The contract value, which includes 28 suppliers for the megacorp, is suspected to be worth roughly one to two billion yuan, roughly between US$140-279 million. Shortly after the arrest, employees still employed by NetEase announced that their usual screensavers had been replaced with reminders of the company's compliance protocols.

Based on what is known, this is the second internal anti-corruption investigation organized by NetEase, the previous one in September 2023. A spokesperson for NetEase said that the police are investigating the alleged corruption allegations, although no details have been released at this time. When it comes to games in development at the company, NetEase is working Project Mugenan open-world urban fantasy RPG that takes inspiration from a number of other titles such as Grand Theft Autoand is currently in development for PC, PS5 and mobile phones Where the winds meetwhich is due out in 2025.


Leave a Comment