NetEase Games has opened up a new studio called PinCool in Tokyo

NetEase Games has announced a new game studio named PinCool in Tokyo, Japan. 

According to a press release from the publisher, the studio is made up of ‘industry experts with extensive experience in different facets of the interactive entertainment field, including video games, movie creatives, live events and IP licensing’, and will primarily focus on creating video game titles for the current generation of consoles, as well as other forms of entertainment when and where opportunities arise to do so.

It will be led by representative director and president Ryutaro Ichimura. He is best known for his work on the Dragon Quest franchise at Square Enix, which includes not only lead producer duties on popular game entries like Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King and Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies, but involvement in cross-media projects like the anime reboot for Dragon Quest: The Adventure of Dai and in-person events and exhibition spaces that have celebrated the long-running franchise. 

It has also been announced that Takashi Ogura will also be joining PinCool’s board of directors. Ogura is known for branding and marketing, as well as business development and strategy. He has previously worked on some of the biggest and most popular Japanese brands, including Epoch’s Doraemon, and worked with Ichimura on Dragon Quest: The Adventure of Dai.

“’Creativity to make life more enjoyable’ encapsulates our philosophy. The company name comes from the Japanese phrase ‘pin to kuru,’ expressing when an idea clicks. The English name ‘PinCool’ is pronounced similarly and is stylized to include the English word ‘cool’ as well.” said Ichimura. 

“We offer something you won’t find anywhere else. We aim to deliver fun experiences to people across the globe through projects that take advantage of the kind of new ideas that come from untethered creative freedom. We also aim to release smaller titles while we continue our work on large-scale titles. I’m looking forward to what lies in store in the adventure of PinCool!”