NetEase is teaming up with Jerry Hook, one of the pioneers of the original Xbox, to start a new AAA studio based in Seattle. Hook’s most recent credit is for Halo Infinite as the head of design, and he’s been around for quite some time now, having worked for Microsoft as an executive producer for over 11 years.
Hook’s core team includes other games industry veterans such as Batman: Arkham games’ narrative director Paul Crocker, Greg Stone who worked on Doom (2016), and Steve Dyck who previously worked on NBA Street and Halo series. Hook and most of his teammates have been working for 343 Industries before forming Jar of Sparks.
The studio’s main goal is “to develop a new breed of narrative-driven action games with rich environments” and Hook believes NetEase is the right partner for the task at hand. The experienced developer believes NetEase will help them grow into a world-class studio with “full creative freedom”.
Jerry Hook says Jar of Sparks will be an innovative studio that does things differently, and with the Chinese publisher’s help, they can “build a home for creators and content creators who could really flourish and specifically help them grow so that they can put their entire passion against a project.” per his interview with IGN.
The industry veteran added: “We have built games for some of the biggest companies in gaming, and now it’s time to take a shot at putting our own personal lightning in a bottle. We want to create something new, innovative and that’s a blast to play.”
NetEase’s growth has seen a few hits here and there at home, due to China denying game licenses to the company, but the publishing giant has been recovering and making investments outside the country’s borders. Prior to backing Jar of Sparks, NetEase invested in Poland-based VR game studio Something Random and partnered with T4W to push a new party game named Eggy Go worldwide.
The publisher also set up a new studio in Japan with Yakuza producer Toshihiro Nagoshi earlier this year.
