NetEase Chinese poached Jonathan Morin (Watch Dogs) to create a new AAA

If we have just learned that Saudi Arabia has a voracious appetite for video games, with no less than 38 million dollars which will be injected into the sector, on the side of China, we continue to show the interest in the western market. At NetEase Games, for example, we continue to look for talent all over the world. After paying for the services of Toshihiro Nagoshi (the creator of the Yakuza series, who left SEGA not without a few breakages), Hiroyuki Kobayashi (famous producer at Capcom) then bought all of Grasshopper Manufacture (No More Heroes), and recently the French studio Quantic Dream (Heavy Rain, Detroit Become Human), the Chinese giant announces that it has poached Jonathan Morin, a former employee at Ubisoft and known for having been the Creative Director of the first Watch Dogs. His sudden departure from Ubisoft a month ago should have put us on the alert, because it is indeed on the side of NetEaseGames that the Canadian developer has found refuge. Better, Jonathan Morin will join the young studio NetEase Games Montreal to create a brand new license.

I am delighted to announce my new adventure as Creative Director at NetEase Games Montreal. I have the privilege of joining a new passionate and talented team to create our own IP. It's the start of something special for me and I can't wait to say more…

 

Founded in 2019, the NetEase Games Montreal studio is part of this Chinese technology push that the group is offering itself as part of a new international expansion. Prior to Jonathan Morin, the company had hired veteran Assassin's Creed and Far Cry producer Emile Liang as lead producer. With his expertise in AAA games and after 21 years at Ubisoft, Jonathan Morin only has to prove to his new Chinese employer that he is the right person for this kind of job.