Following the modest release of the latest installment in the Mana series, we already have some bad news on the horizon. Ouka Studios, responsible for developing Visions of Mana, is reportedly closing following the new decisions from Chinese publisher NetEase to step back from Japanese studios after years of investments.
The statement comes via a Bloomberg report, released one day after Visions of Mana debuted. Most employees have been cut from the studio, with only a few remaining to complete the final adjustments to their other upcoming games. The studio is expected to completely shut down once this is done, as no new projects have been announced for the studios, and it would be difficult to execute with fewer employees than ever.
Ouka Studio was founded back in 2020, bringing names from various big companies in the industry, such as Capcom, but it looks like the final results couldn’t match the expectations NetEase had. While they aren’t leaving Japan completely just yet, closing off Ouka is a very clear message about how the country isn’t their biggest focus anymore. NetEase declared they had “nothing to announce” when questioned about the studio’s future.
Related: Fairy Tail Game Funded by Manga Creator Achieves Quiet Success on Steam
The general shift away from the Japanese market can be attributed to the recent success of China’s gaming market, with titles like Black Myth: Wukong taking the world by storm. Their rival publisher Tencent Games seems to be following the same path, considering Blue Protocol‘s end-of-service announcement made earlier this week, which also included the cancellation of its Global version. It doesn’t spell a direct end for studios under these names, but it’s definitely alarming.
It’s a sad conclusion for the studio to be closing down so soon, especially considering how much love was poured into Visions of Mana. We talked more about the game in our review, which marked the first new main title in the series released in almost a decade, excluding remakes. The series may not be over just yet, though, but Square Enix will probably have to find a new studio to develop any potential new titles.