Suda51's Grasshopper Manufacture Goes Independent Again After Five Years Under NetEase Games

Grasshopper Manufacture, the Tokyo studio behind the No More Heroes series, killer7 and The Silver Case, has become independent of NetEase Games as of October 1, 2026. The studio announced the split in a press release dated September 30, 2026, ending a five-year run under the Chinese publisher, which had acquired it from GungHo Online Entertainment in 2021.

Based in Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Grasshopper was founded in 1998 and has more than 25 years of console-focused development experience across more than 25 games, a catalog that runs from the surreal adventure killer7 to the cult action series No More Heroes and the original Lollipop Chainsaw. Its founder and chief executive, Goichi Suda, is known to players worldwide as Suda51.

The change is more than a corporate formality. Grasshopper spent 13 years under outside ownership, first under GungHo Online Entertainment from 2013 and then under NetEase Games from October 2021, and it returns to independence with its own publishing operation in place. In his statement, Suda said the studio had finally completed an all-hands project and that, reflecting on the next stage of Grasshopper Manufacture's future, "we found a strong desire to deliver titles in an even wider variety of styles to video game lovers everywhere."

Suda added that the decision was reached after thorough discussions with NetEase Games and with "their generous cooperation," and that he continues to cherish the relationship the two companies have built, with further collaboration expected when the opportunity arises. The statement notes that procedures related to the split, including changes to board members, are still in progress.

Key Facts

Games Press reported on September 30, 2026 that the official statement confirms independence as of October 1, 2026, and that the studio released Romeo Is a Dead Man this past February and celebrated its 28th anniversary in March. Grasshopper is now moving toward its 30th anniversary, which will arrive two years into its second life as an independent company. The announcement was issued by chief executive Goichi Suda, listed as representative director and CEO, one day before the ownership change took effect.

Automaton reported on October 1, 2026 that the split ends a five-year period of NetEase ownership that began with an equity transfer agreement involving GungHo Online Entertainment. During that time the studio produced two titles: 2024's Shadows of the Damned: Hella Remastered, a remaster of the 2011 action adventure game, and 2026's Romeo Is a Dead Man. Game Informer reported on September 30, 2026 that Romeo is the only game Grasshopper released under NetEase, a narrower count that excludes the remaster.

FullCleared reported on September 30, 2026 that the original agreement, signed on May 31, 2021, called for NetEase Games to advise on business planning and fund game development while Grasshopper stayed responsible for creativity and production. At the time, Suda said the studio would strive to release three higher-quality Grasshopper Manufacture Games over the following ten years. Two releases, one of them a remaster of a 2011 title, arrived in the five years that followed.

FullCleared also reported that Grasshopper self-published Romeo Is a Dead Man on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and PC, and that the studio says its self-publishing know-how has improved to the point where it now has a broad range of options. Suda tied that capability directly to the decision, saying the studio remains committed to creating unique titles featuring the "NO GAME NO LIFE" gaming experience.

This Week in Videogames reported on September 30, 2026 that NetEase acquired Grasshopper Manufacture from GungHo Online Entertainment, which had owned the studio since 2013, and that during its spell under NetEase the Japanese developer released just one new game, February 2026's action title Romeo is a Dead Man. The same report describes the studio as going independent once again after 13 years under outside owners.

Analysis

The bigger picture here is that Grasshopper's exit is one strand of a much wider retreat by NetEase from the studios it assembled during a years-long international spending spree. This Week in Videogames reported on September 30, 2026 that after a period of aggressive investment in international studios, recent months have seen NetEase pull back from many of those bets, particularly in Japan and the West, through divestments, job cuts, studio closures and studios going independent. Its examples include United States based Fantastic Pixel Castle, led by former Riot executive Greg Street, which shut down in 2025 after funding was pulled; Anchor Point Studios, which announced independence in February 2026; and Nagoshi Studio, founded by Yakuza creator Toshihiro Nagoshi, which lost its NetEase backing in 2026.

The pattern holds across regions. Game Informer reported on September 30, 2026 that the split comes roughly a year and a half after word arrived that NetEase was looking to divest most of its overseas teams, as reported by Game File. The same outlet noted that NetEase closed Canada based Worlds Untold in 2024, put Jar of Sparks on ice in January, laid off workers at Sweden based Liquid Swords in 2025, and laid off the entire United States team developing Marvel Rivals.

Grasshopper was, on the evidence of the 2021 structure, among the better positioned of those investments to stand alone. NetEase funded development and advised on business planning while the studio kept control of creativity and production, and Grasshopper came out of Romeo Is a Dead Man with stronger self-publishing experience. What this really means is that this is a genuinely mutual separation rather than a rescue: Suda's language about generous cooperation, the absence of any closure language, and the stated openness to future collaboration all point to a studio that chose its own moment. The caveat is that five years produced two releases, one of them a remaster, against an original ambition of three games in ten years, which is a modest return for any parent company weighing where to spend next.

There is also a practical read on timing. Grasshopper waited until Romeo Is a Dead Man was finished and shipped before separating, which means the studio's first independent decisions will be made about a clean slate rather than about a game already deep in the pipeline. Suda's statement about a completed all-hands project is a signal that the team sits between productions, and the studio's own framing of a broad range of options suggests several models are on the table, from full self-publishing to co-production with an outside partner.

Why It Matters

For players, the immediate consequence is that Grasshopper decides its own projects again. The studio has shipped more than 25 games and built a following around the "NO GAME NO LIFE" philosophy, and independence means it can choose which platforms, publishers and partners it works with rather than fitting into a parent company's portfolio plan. Suda said the aim is to deliver titles in a wider variety of styles, which for a developer whose catalog already spans killer7, No More Heroes and The Silver Case is a meaningful promise rather than a slogan.

For the wider industry, the split is another data point in the unwinding of Chinese investment in Japanese and Western studios. NetEase's pullback has already produced closures, layoffs, divestments and independence announcements across several countries, and each one resets expectations for developers that accepted outside capital during the boom years. Studios that took that money now have to answer a harder question about who funds the next project and how much creative control is traded away for it.

For NetEase, the transaction removes a studio that was never central to its core business while keeping a working relationship alive. Both sides have said they are open to collaborating again, which preserves an option without the cost of ownership. For Grasshopper, the stake is simpler: after 13 years under two different owners, the studio is betting that its own publishing muscle is enough to keep Suda's ideas reaching players.

Next Up

There is no word yet on what Grasshopper is working on now, though Suda said in February around the launch of Romeo Is a Dead Man that the studio plans to release another game this year, as Game Informer reported on September 30, 2026. Automaton reported on October 1, 2026 that with so many options for developing and publishing, Suda says the next course of action is to continue planning and developing unique games built on the "NO GAME NO LIFE" philosophy, and that the developers are asking fans for continued support as the studio nears its 30th anniversary.

Paperwork remains. The company says procedures related to the split, including changes to board members, are still in progress. Whether NetEase appears as a partner on a future Grasshopper title is an open question, but both companies have left the door open, and Suda's own summary of the moment on X was that the studio is ready for its "next fucking adventure."