NetEase, Inc. is a Chinese Internet technology company providing online services centered on content, community, communications and commerce. The company was founded in 1997 by Ding Lei. NetEase develops and operates online PC and mobile games, advertising services, email services and e-commerce platforms in China. It is one of the largest Internet and video game companies in the world. The company also owns several pig farms. Some of NetEase's games include the Westward Journey series, as well as other games, such as Tianxia III, Heroes of Tang Dynasty Zero and Ghost II. NetEase also partners with Blizzard Entertainment to operate local versions of ,World of Warcraft, Hearthstone, StarCraft II, , Overwatch in China, the RPG game Onmyoji, and the Onmyoji Arena MOBA. They are also developing their first self-developed VR multiplayer online game with an open world setting, which is called Nostos.
2001: NetEase is delisted from NASDAQ because accusations its directors were involved in fraudulent practices reporting earnings.
2004: NetEase's founder and chief architect William Ding won the Wharton Infosys Business Transformation Award for his innovative use of information technology. Ding became one of the wealthiest individuals in China after founding NetEase.
2008: The 163.com domain attracted at least 1.8 million visitors annually by 2008 according to a Compete.com survey.
2012: The company's official English name was changed from NetEase.com, Inc to NetEase, Inc. In April 2012, NetEase began testing a restaurant recommendation mobile app called "Fan Fan". The company collaborated with coursera.org to provide Massive Open Online Course in China.
2017: NetEase makes an agreement with the American company Marvel Comics to develop a comic based on a Chinese superhero, in addition 12 comic copies by Marvel will be released online such as The Amazing Spider-Man, Captain America, and Guardians of the Galaxy. This results in the publication of Aero, a Manhua tie-in to Marvel's Agents of Atlas.
2018: NetEase invests into Bungie for a minority stake in the company and a seat on its board of directors. In December of the same year NetEase invested in New Zealand developer A44, and it sold its comics business to Bilibili.
2019: NetEase obtains a minority stake in Quantic Dream for an undisclosed investment.
*In June 2020 NetEase established a Japanese studio called Sakura Studio to develop next-generation console games.
Businesses
PC-client & Mobile Games: provider of self-developed online client games to Internet users in China; licensee of games by Blizzard Entertainment; developer & publisher of mobile games.
Internet Media: Operating a network of mobile applications, services and social communication platforms, as well as Internet portals with enriched content.
E-mail Services: Largest provider of free e-mail services in China with more than 940 million users as of 2017, in addition to 163.com, the company also runs 188.com, 126.com and more.
Youdao Products: Specialized online tools including Youdao Dictionary, Youdao Cloudnote and Huihui.cn.
E-commerce: services available to Chinese consumers on both desktop and mobile including Kaola.com, NetEase's self operated cross-border e-commerce platform, online video broadcasting services and insurance products.
Games
PC Games: Fantasy Westward Journey II, Westward Journey Online II, New Ghost, Tianxia III, Revelation, Demon Seals, Hegemon-‐King of Western Chu, Rules of Survival Mobile Games: Fantasy Westward Journey mobile, Westward Journey Online mobile, Invincible, Kung Fu Panda 3 mobile game, The X-‐World, Kai-Ri-Sei Million Arthur, Chrono Blade and Hearthstone, Cyber Hunter, Survival Royale, Rules of Survival, Knives Out, Ride Out Heroes, Super Mecha Champions, Life After, Creative Destruction, Extraordinary Ones, FishBoy, Galactic Frontline, The Room series, Onmyoji series and Identity V. In 2017, NetEase Games announced a collaboration with Qualcomm to optimise their Messiah Game Engine for Vulkan and Snapdragon 800 series. Knives Out is one of the most popular battle royale games, having reached over 250million players. New games planned for launch: Fantasy Westward Journey: Warriors, New Ghost Mobile, a series of new titles based on novels by Gu Long, and a version of Minecraft and Minecraft: Pocket Edition for China. On Tuesday, May 28, it was announced at a Pokémon Press Conference in Tokyo that NetEase would be developing a version of ‘‘Pokémon Quest’’ for Chinese devices. Game released under Titan Studio: Creative Destruction for PC and Mobile. In January 2020, NetEase launched its online digital game store, Fever Games'' with two games: Deep Rock Galactic and TerraTech.
Licensed online games
Commercially re-launched World of Warcraft in September 2009, which used to be operated by another company, The9 Limited
Launched free-to-play digital strategy card game Hearthstone in PRC in Jan 2014; mobile version launched in April 2015
Open beta testing of Heroes of the Storm started in China in May 2015
Initiated open beta testing in PRC of Diablo III: Reaper of Souls in April 2015
Three-‐year agreement to license Blizzard's title Overwatch in PRC
Agreement to license Mojang's Minecraft and Minecraft: Pocket Edition in China
* Operates the Chinese third-party MinecraftHypixel server
Will assume the publishing of EVE Online in the Chinese market starting in October 2018
Developing Diablo Immortal for iOS and Android
Expansion
NetEase launched their first Western Headquarters in August 2014 bringing one of the largest tech companies in China to the US. In 2015, NetEase North America, the San Francisco-based arm of the Chinese technology giant, announced a new funding initiative for independent developers. Known as the NetEase Success Fund, the scheme offers an alternative to traditional publishing by providing up to $500,000 for each accepted developer to fund marketing and advertising. Furthermore, developers awarded funding retain the rights, creative control, and full ownership of their products. In December 2015, NetEase Capital Venture arm has made a $2.5 million investment into Reforged Studios, a privately held game studio based in Helsinki.
Music streaming service
NetEase has an on-demand music-streaming service; 网易云音乐.
Significance of the number 163
NetEase's official website address is . This was attributed to the past when Chinese internet users had to dial "163" to connect to the internet, before the availability of broadband internet.
