Visions of Mana has barely debuted, but its studio is in jeopardy; layoffs and possible closure of Ouka Studios reported

Visions of Mana debuted this week to rave reviews and the thumbs up of the JRPG community. However, the celebratory mood for the debut has turned to sadness as a report claims that the studio behind the title will soon be closing down.

NetEase lays off staff and will close the studio Visions of Mana

According to a report by BloombergOuka Studios, developer studio of Visions of Mana The days of Ouka Studios are numbered, after it was revealed that its owners, NetEase, made the decision to reduce their investment in Japanese companies and projects. In this regard, it is reported that NetEase fired the majority of Ouka Studios workers and only left a handful of employees who will take care of some details before the final closure is made official.

In this regard, the reporter of Bloomberg In Japan, Takashi Mochizuki revealed that the layoff of Ouka Studios workers is not something that happened overnight, as NetEase has been cutting jobs since April of this year, the difference is that this time the number was higher and coincided with the launch of Visions of Mana.

The report also said that the cuts made to Ouka Studios and its imminent closure ordered by NetEase are a response to a reconsideration by Chinese companies, such as Tencent, regarding their investments in the Japanese market, given that the economy of this country has been weakened in recent months, perpetuating the crisis it has experienced in recent years.

Sadly, if the closure of Ouka Studios and the other announcements that could follow from Chinese companies in Japan are confirmed, this would mean that the “gold rush” for foreign companies that was experienced in the Japanese video game industry would have come to an end. In recent years, Several creatives from major companies such as Capcom, Bandai Namco and Square Enix joined the subsidiaries of NetEase and Tencent in search of better job options. However, it seems that the results have not been as expected.

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Fountain