NetEase acquires Skybox Labs, co-developer of Halo Infinite and Minecraft

Another acquisition in the video game industry has taken place under Microsoft’s nose. In this case, it is Skybox Labs, a studio that has supported the development of Halo Infinite, Fallout 76 and Minecraft. In his career as support for Microsoft, he has spent a low profile, so much so that they have their own little-known video game called TASTEE: Lethal Tactics.

Despite being a studio that works under the shadows of the greats, it does not imply that they are bad at working, which is why the company NetEase, the Chinese giant that has already acquired studios such as Quantic Dream or the creators of No More Heroes, Grasshopper Manufacture . This movement is made so that Skybox Labs works as an “independent” developer under the command of the Chinese company creating its own games. In addition to this, they will not stop relating to third parties to support developments.

Purchasing in the industry, a chess game to dominate the market

The urgent need that exists today for developing teams with top quality qualities is moving the industry enormously. The best example is Microsoft and its current novel with the purchase of Activision Blizzard; In addition to this, they also acquired Bethesda. On the other hand, Sony has bought part of From Software and all of Bungie. Thus, the scenario establishes that large corporations such as Take-Two or NetEase are free to buy studios without having much impact.

According to the founder of Skybox Labs, this movement will be beneficial for them independently, as it will help them grow and be able to find new opportunities that they would not have had firsthand before.

We have built a team of talented people who are passionate and creative, and by joining NetEase Games, we will also be able to accelerate our plans to pursue new creative opportunities and enjoy access to world-class operational resources and the breadth and depth of NetEase services. so we can scale faster in Canada, SkyBox founder Kong said.