The Blood of Dawnwalker dev Rebel Wolves is partially owned by NetEase, but the studio wants you to know its upcoming game is fine despite recent reports.
Things are a little rough over at NetEase at the moment, as recent reports have claimed that a bunch of big overseas studios won’t get anymore funding, and that they’ll have to finish their games with the budget they’ve got left. That potentially leaves developers Yakuza creator Toshihiro Nagoshi up a particular creek, given that he left RGG to form his own studio to develop a new IP. The news also left some worried about the state of The Blood of Dawnwalker, the first game from Rebel Wolves, a new studio led by the director of The Witcher 3, as NetEase does own a stake in the developer. However, in a post shared to LinkedIn (thanks, Eurogamer), Rebel Wolves’ chief publishing officer and co-owner Tomasz Tinc explained that there’s nothing to worry about.
“I’ve also read the articles suggesting that Rebel Wolves may be in danger due to the rumoured situation at NetEase,” Tinc wrote. “First and foremost, thank you for all the warm messages and wishes. The development of our game is progressing steadily, and we’re facing no financial issues. The Blood of Dawnwalker’s production is fully funded, and we work alongside our partners and friends from Bandai Namco, our game’s global publisher, to bring the first chapter of the Dawnwalker saga to life.
“The vast majority of Rebel Wolves’ ownership rests in the hands of Konrad Tomaszkiewicz and other studio co-owners, all of whom are employed by Rebel Wolves. NetEase is Rebel Wolves’ minority shareholder.”
That’s obviously good news for those excited about Dawnwalker, but you still have to wonder what’s going on over at NetEase, as one report even claimed that the company’s CEO wanted to cancel Marvel Rivals, or potentially just make an original game instead, because he didn’t want to pay Disney a licensing fee. Need I remind you that this is the same game that just hit 40 million players, so take of that what you will.