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Resident Evil & Devil May Cry veteran producer leaves Capcom for NetEase

Hiroyuki Kobayashi is among the latest of long-tenured developers making their way over to NetEase to work on new projects.

TJ Denzer

August 12, 2022 8:00 AM

Image via Capcom

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Over the course of the last year, it seems as though NetEase has been scooping up some very high-profile talent for work on projects within its increasingly large gaming empire. Leads from franchises like Halo and Yakuza have jumped ship over to NetEase while the group has acquired studios like Grasshopper Manufacture and collaborated with groups like Bungie and Activision on new games. Now, it seems Capcom is losing one of its veterans to NetEase. Veteran producer Hiroyuki Kobayashi of projects like Resident Evil 4 and Devil May Cry 4 has announced his move from Capcom to NetEase with a new project planned in his new position.

Kobayashi announced his move to NetEase via his personal Twitter on August 12, 2022.

“Today, August 12, is my 50th birthday,” Kobayashi wrote in his tweet. “As such, I would like to share something very special with everyone: After serving 27 years with gratitude, I have departed from Capcom on March 31, 2022, and will officially be joining NetEase as a producer. Detailed plans will be shared later so please stay tuned. I will strive to continuously create more enjoyable entertainment experiences for everyone at this new company, in this new era.”

It seems as though Kobayashi is already working on something new for NetEase, though he clearly couldn’t share what it was at the moment. Kobayashi’s tenure with Capcom was long and included some legendary titles from the company’s history. His work includes much of the Resident Evil series, going back to the first game, as well as producer and executive producer credits on the likes of Mega Man, Dragon’s Dogma, Dino Crisis, and further franchises.

Kobayashi’s move also follows several high-profile pickups of veteran gaming talent at NetEase. The company recently picked up Yakuza creator Toshihiro Nagoshi, who formed his new Nagoshi Studio and is working on a new non-mobile game with NetEase. Former Halo Infinite Head of Design Jerry Hook also formed Jar of Sparks Studio under NetEase to work on his own new project.

With NetEase picking up strong video game talent, as well as collaborating on massive projects like Diablo Immortal, it will be interesting to see what kind of games come out of new hires like Hiroyuki Kobayashi. Stay tuned as we follow this story for further updates here at Shacknews.

TJ Denzer

Senior News Editor

TJ Denzer is a player and writer with a passion for games that has dominated a lifetime. He found his way to the Shacknews roster in late 2019 and has worked his way to Senior News Editor since. Between news coverage, he also aides notably in livestream projects like the indie game-focused Indie-licious, the Shacknews Stimulus Games, and the Shacknews Dump. You can reach him at tj.denzer@shacknews.com and also find him on Twitter @JohnnyChugs.