NetEase fires executives accused of money laundering

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Important takeaways

  • Nine NetEase Games employees have reportedly been fired for bribery and money laundering, including top executives.
  • The investigation covers alleged purchases from 28 suppliers worth $140 million to $279 million.
  • NetEase develops Project Mugen and Where Winds Meet amid ongoing anti-corruption investigation.



Nine employees from NetEase Gamesa Chinese publisher and developer of various AAA games, has reportedly been fired after being arrested on bribery and money laundering charges. Among those arrested are two senior NetEase Games executive members, Xiang Lang and Jin Yuchen. NetEase Games is a well-known Chinese publisher and developer that previously worked with companies such as Blizzard and Bungie for games such as Diablo Immortal and Destiny: Rising on the mobile phone. Some of the company's recent production includes Marvel Rivals and Once human.

NetEase was first founded in 1997 by Ding Lei, first as a technology company that then grew into other ventures such as video games. This began in 2020 with the company establishing a video game division, acquiring developers such as Grasshopper Manufacture, and hiring major game industry veterans such as former Sega employees Toshihiro Nagoshi and Daisuke Sato. Other studios such as Spliced ​​also opened in 2023, founded by former Marvelous vice president Toshinori Aoki and BlazBlue creator Toshimichi Mori. Amid its rapid growth, some NetEase employees were recently part of an investigation, including two senior members of the company.


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In an internal memo to its staff (first chronicled by Chinese site Leifeng and reported by Bloomberg Law), NetEase announced that it has since fired a total of nine employees for alleged bribery. The names of these involved employees have apparently been removed from NetEase's internal systems. Among those involved is NetEase Games general manager, Xiang Lang, along with Jin Yuchen, NetEase's former e-sports lead for games such as the upcoming Marvel Rivals.


9 employees arrested at NetEase Games


The internal NetEase Games investigation is still ongoing, but Leifeng notes that it revolves around employee purchase traffic. It is suspected that this is a contract value involving 28 suppliers to the megacorp in a case worth about one to two billion yuan, which is roughly between $140-279 million USD. Shortly after the arrests, staff still employed by NetEase reported that their usual computer screensavers had been replaced with reminders of the company's compliance protocol.

Based on what is known, this is the second internal anti-corruption investigation conducted by NetEase, the previous one was in September 2023. A NetEase spokesperson stated that the police are investigating alleged corruption allegations, although no details have been disclosed at this time. As for games under development at the company, NetEase is working on Project Mugenan urban fantasy Open-World RPG that draws inspiration from a number of other titles such as Grand Theft Autoand is currently in development for PC, PS5 and mobile phones Where winds meetreleased in 2025.


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