Suda51's Grasshopper Manufacture Goes Independent After Leaving NetEase

Grasshopper Manufacture, the studio behind the No More Heroes series and Lollipop Chainsaw, has split from NetEase Games and is independent again. The China-based publisher acquired the studio in 2021, and the separation comes months after the launch of Romeo is a Dead Man, the only game Grasshopper released under NetEase ownership.

CEO Goichi Suda, better known as Suda51, announced the move in a press release. He said the decision followed thorough discussions with NetEase and "their generous cooperation."

What Suda51 said

Suda51 framed the split as a creative choice after the studio finished Romeo is a Dead Man. "Having finally completed this all-hands project, as we reflected on the next stage of Grasshopper Manufacture's future, we found a strong desire to deliver titles in an even wider variety of styles to video game lovers everywhere," he wrote.

He also left the door open to working with NetEase again: "We continue to cherish the amazing relationship our companies have built, and look forward to further collaboration when the opportunity arrives." Grasshopper has also built up its self-publishing experience, which Suda51 said gives it "a broad range of options," whoever ends up publishing its games. The studio, he added, remains committed to the "NO GAME NO LIFE" experience it is known for.

NetEase's retreat from overseas studios

The departure fits a broader pattern. Roughly a year and a half ago, reports surfaced that NetEase wanted to divest most of its overseas teams, and the cuts since then have been steady:

• Worlds Untold, a Canada-based developer, was closed in 2024, only a year after it was unveiled.
• Jar of Sparks, a studio NetEase helped open in 2022, was put on ice in January.
• Liquid Swords, the Sweden-based studio NetEase invested in during 2022, saw layoffs in 2025.
• The entire U.S. team developing Marvel Rivals was laid off a few months after the game launched, despite its success as an Overwatch-style hero shooter.

Suda51 makes clear that Grasshopper is leaving of its own volition, with NetEase's cooperation. Given that track record, though, it's plausible the studio chose to leave before it faced layoffs or closure. Neither company has said that, and nothing in the announcement suggests it.

What comes next

Grasshopper hasn't revealed any plans as an independent studio. Back in February, around the launch of Romeo is a Dead Man, Suda51 said the studio intends to release another game this year. Whether that still holds, and who will publish it, hasn't been addressed.