NetEase has formed strategic partnerships with Marvel and The Pokemon Company to help the pair launch new games in China.
The Marvel deal will see NetEase help the comic book and movie giant develop new video games, television series, and comic books based on “internationally beloved Marvel stories.”
Marvel Entertainment president Dan Buckley specifically hopes the deal will help the company make a bigger impact in “China and beyond,” with NetEase having plenty of experience operating and growing big-name franchises like World of Warcraft and Minecraft in the tough-to-crack Chinese market.
“As a global leader in online games, NetEase is the perfect fit to help bring the Marvel Universe to more fans around the world,” commented Buckley in a press release. “We can’t wait to share more about the exciting new games and other content that will be developed with this partnership.”
As for the Pokemon deall, NetEase has linked up with The Pokemon Company to release a localized version of Pokemon Quest in China with the help of developer GameFreak.
As reported by Reuters, the free-to-play mobile adventure game will become the first Pokemon title to launch on smartphones in China, beating out the likes of Pokemon Go, which has yet to arrive in the country.
While there’s currently no word as to when Pokemon Quest will actually launch in China, NetEase has offered as vague timeline with regards to its Marvel partnership, and hopes to have “fix or six” Marvel games out by the end of 2019.