NetEase’s closed studio, T-Minus Zero Entertainment, is back from the dead
The T-Minus name has been acquired by staff; “reimagined” studio to relaunch as production company
NetEase’s closed studio, T-Minus Zero Entertainment, is back from the dead.
In an announcement, a small group of staff said they’d acquired the T-Minus Zero name and are relaunching as an independent production company “inspired by the independent film world”.
The reimagined company will be led by former production director Zachary Beaudoin, whose CV includes BioWare’s Anthem.
Original members Mark Tucker (Fallout 76, Doom, Crimson Alliance), Jeff Dobson (Star Wars: The Old Republic, Dragon Age Inquisition), and Scott Stevens (Halo 4) are also on board, but T-Minus’s former studio head and founder, Rich Vogel, does not appear to be involved.
There’s also no mention in the announcement of the studio’s third-person multiplayer action game, which was based on a public domain IP.
“Earlier this year, our journey with NetEase Games came to a close,” the announcement reads. “Together, we accomplished something rare: a world-class team, a bold new IP, and a fully playable prototype that demonstrated both our creative and executional strength.
“The response from players, partners, and peers validated our belief that what we were building had genuine market potential. While shifting market conditions terminated that trajectory, they also clarified our path forward.
“A small group of veteran directors & founders have acquired the T-Minus Zero Entertainment name to carry the team’s spirit forward and are relaunching as an independent production company—with a refined development model and a funding approach inspired by the independent film world: focused, project-based, and partnership-friendly.”
NetEase Games announced the formation of T-Minus in August 2023, only to later withdraw its funding, leading to its closure in September of this year.
Earlier this year, Game File sources claimed NetEase was significantly scaling back its operations and actively shopping around its non-Chinese studios – a claim the company denied at the time.
In addition to the initial closure of T-Minus, NetEase split from Vancouver-based Worlds Untold, the studio it founded with Mass Effect writer Mac Walters in 2023, as well as Seattle-based Jar of Sparks, the studio founded in 2022 by Xbox veteran Jerry Hook.
Ouka Studio, the Tokyo-based developer behind Square Enix’s Visions of Mana, was also closed last year.
