Suda 51's Grasshopper Manufacture splits from NetEase

Nicole Carpenter,Contributor,Game Developer

September 30, 2026

schedule1 Min ReadImage via Grasshopper Manufacture

Grasshopper Manufacture CEO Goichi Suda announced Wednesday that the company is splitting from its former owner NetEase Games. Suda said Grasshopper Manufacture reflected on its future after finishing Romeo Is A Dead Man, the action adventure game, and decided it wanted to "deliver titles in an even wider variety of styles to video game lovers everywhere."

"As such, Grasshopper Manufacture has chosen to move forward as an independent developer," Suda continued.

Suda said the decision to split the studio off came after "thorough discussions with NetEase Games."

"Having improved our own self-publishing know-how, we now have a broad range of options available to us, and regardless of how our games may be published we remain committed to creating unique titles featuring the 'NO GAME NO LIFE' gaming experience expected of Grasshopper Manufacture with our own signature flavor and further enhanced quality," he wrote.

The No More Heroes developer was acquired by NetEase Games in 2021. Previously, Grasshopper Manufacture was under GungHo Group. It remained part of NetEase Games for five years. The studio was independent before the GungHo Group acquisition, founded in 1998 by Suda himself.

"We hope you will continue to watch over Grasshopper Manufacture as we make this next leap forward and move on to our upcoming 30th anniversary and beyond," Suda wrote. "We sincerely hope for and deeply appreciate your ongoing support for our studio and the titles we will create in the future."

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About the Author

Nicole Carpenter

Contributor, Game Developer

Nicole Carpenter is a veteran reporter who has been covering the video game industry for over a decade.

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