Control’s lead designer establishes new NetEase Games studio Anchor Point

NetEase has established Anchor Point Studios, a new development studio founded by Control’s lead designer Paul Ehreth.

Primarily based in Barcelona, Spain, with a second office in Seattle, United States, Anchor Point will focus on the creation of action-adventure games for console and PC.

Ehreth, who also previously worked as a campaign designer on Halo 4 and Halo 5, is joined by a team that includes head of operations Pere Torrents, who formerly held the same role at Smilegate Barcelona (Crossfire).

Other developers at the studio have worked on titles including Ghost of Tsushima, Red Dead Redemption 2 and The Division, according to NetEase.

Anchor Point has almost 100 jobs open and is seeking developers, technical artists, and designers to work in its offices, remotely, or in a hybrid capacity.

“Our studio’s motto is ‘Per Aspera, Ad Astra’ (‘Through hardships, to the stars’) because what we’re attempting to build is an adventure that will stay fresh and provide a unique experience that will surprise people each time they play,” said Anchor Point founder Ehreth.

“We’re grateful to NetEase Games for giving us the creative freedom and resources to build an interconnected world that will expand beyond games and reach into other mediums as well.”

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In January, NetEase Games announced the acquisition of Halo and Minecraft co-developer SkyBox Labs.

The purchase of the Canadian studio was the latest in a string of studio acquisitions by the Chinese tech and gaming giant NetEase in recent years, which also include No More Heroes developer Grasshopper Manufacture and Quantic Dream, the Paris-based studio behind Heavy Rain, Detroit: Become Human and Beyond: Two Souls.

Yakuza creator Toshihiro Nagoshi joined the company last year to found Nagoshi Studio, a “wholly-owned subsidiary” of NetEase Games focused on “high-end titles” primarily for consoles.