China’s NetEase recruits Microsoft Xbox talent for new video games studio in Seattle

The Seattle studio is headed by Jerry Hook, former head of design on Halo Infinite, a popular first-person shooting game created by Microsoft’s Xbox video game brand

NetEase and its larger domestic rival Tencent Holdings have not secured official Chinese approval to publish any new games over the past year

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Published: 5:30pm, 20 Jul 2022Updated: 9:47pm, 20 Jul 2022

NetEase, China’s second-largest video gaming company, has opened a new studio in Seattle as the company pins its hopes on the US market amid a tough regulatory environment at home.

NetEase Games, the online games division of NetEase, said in a release that its new studio in Seattle, called Jar of Spark, would focus on “narrative-driven action games”.

The operation is headed by Jerry Hook, the former head of design on Halo Infinite, a popular first-person shooting game created by Microsoft’s Xbox video game brand. Hook was also a founding member of Xbox Live, the online multiplayer gaming service established by Microsoft in 2002.

“It’s Jar of Spark’s mission to create a new generation of narrative-driven action games, with immersive worlds that will be filled with moments that gamers will want to share with each other,” NetEase said in the statement. “We aim to form a diverse and collaborative team of talented creators that will bring whole new worlds to life.”

It is perhaps no surprise that the NetEase studio picked Microsoft’s headquarters city of Seattle as its own base, given that all of its founding members so far are from the US tech giant’s gaming unit.

Apart from Hook, Jar of Spark’s creative director Paul Crocker, executive producer Greg Stone and gameplay director Steve Dyck all had previous roles in Halo Infinite.

“We have built games for some of the biggest companies in gaming, and now it’s time to take a shot at putting our own personal lightning in a bottle,” said Hook, adding that NetEase has given them a “strong creative-first approach”.