After working for Capcom for 27 years, Hiroyuki Kobayashi left the Japanese video game developer and publisher to join NetEase Games, the Chinese advertisement service, PC and mobile games developer.
Kobayashi takes on the role of producer at the company.
Hiroyuki Kobayashi joined Capcom in 1996 and was one of the original programmers for the first Resident Evil game. Kobayashi also worked on huge Capcom hits such as Devil May Cry and Mega Man, having significant positions as producer and executive producer respectively.
Little is known about the reason behind Hiroyuki Kobayashi’s sudden departure from his long-term home. Kobayashi tweeted that he departed from Camcom on March 31, 2022, and will now be joining NetEase Games as a producer.
— 小林裕幸 (@HiroKobaP) August 12, 2022
The tweet also said detailed plans will be shared later so please stay tuned. He wrote, “I will strive to continuously create more enjoyable entertainment experiences for everyone at this new company, in this new era.”
He is the latest Japanese development veteran to join NetEase. Last October, NetEase acquired Japanese developer Suda51’s Grasshopper Manufacture.
Capcom and NetEase Games themselves are both yet to make any official statements on the new position.
However, NetEase Games should be excited to have an experienced veteran like Kobayashi on its team. The firm reported a revenue increase of approximately 19 percent, reaching $13.75 billion last year.
Last month the Chinese mobile games provider invested “several million dollars” into the Polish studio, Something Random as part of its further expansion.
