Suda 51’s Grasshopper Manufacture Splits From NetEase Games

Grasshopper Manufacture (No More Heroes, Lollipop Chainsaw, Romeo Is a Dead Man) has announced a split from NetEase Games. In a press release posted this morning, the company announced that it will be going independent. Grasshopper Manufacture mentioned “A strong desire to deliver titles in an even wider variety of styles to video game lovers everywhere” as its reason “to move forward as an independent developer once again”. This puts an end to a relationship that started in 2021 after NetEase acquired the developer from GungHo Online Entertainment.

This marks Grasshopper Manufacture’s return to independence since 2013. The company was originally founded in 1998 by Goichi Suda, better known as Suda51. The company has never shied away from a genre or franchise, having made games like Samurai Champloo: Sidetracked, Shining Soul, and Fatal Frame: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse in between its more recognizable releases. Grasshopper Manufacture was first purchased in 2013 by GungHo Online Entertainment. Though the relationship officially ended with GungHo Online Entertainment in 2021, the two companies announced a split in 2019 that saw Grasshopper Manufacture split. Supertrick Games would spin off to work on GungHo-owned IPs while Suda51 and a small team would form to work on their own IPs.

Romeo Is a Dead Man is the developer’s latest release, having just come out in February of this year. The game was released to mixed results, sitting at a 68% on OpenCritic with a very positive average on Steam. No official numbers have been released on sales for the game, but the company did mention the game receiving “high acclaim and great reviews” in their press release announcing their return to independence. Despite being owned by NetEase Games, the company released this game independently, so a split from their now-former parent company isn’t completely out of nowhere.

This also continues a trend of NetEase Games and their continued shift away from the games industry. The Chinese tech company has been involved with games for a while, but its footprint within the industry expanded in 2020 and 2021 when it started to buy minor stakes in a variety of companies while also acquiring and starting new studios. NetEase Games would start to divest from many of its studios by 2024. They most recently stopped funding Gang of Dragon from former Yakuza director Toshihiro Nagoshi in May 2026.