China's NetEase Games has opened a brand new developer called Anchor Point Studios.
The venture is primarily based in Barcelona, Spain where its main "hub" is located, though the outfit also has a United States hub in Seattle. The plan is to hire up to 100 people across North America and Europe, with the option to work in-office, remotely or in a hybrid manner.
Anchor Point Studios has been founded by CEO and creative director Paul Ehreth (pictured, far right), a veteran of Microsoft, Remedy and Sony Online Entertainment. Most recently, he worked at Korean giant Smilegate's Barcelona outfit between 2020 and 2022.
Ehreth is joined by operations chief Pere Torrents (pictured, right), whose previous role was also at Smilegate Barcelona, as well as people and culture specialist Ana Lin (pictured, middle right). She has spent the last almost five years at Spanish developer IGG.
“We’re so excited to officially drop our anchor in Barcelona, the hometown of my great-grandparents, and start building a strong team for our journey of exploration together with NetEase Games," Ehreth said.
"Our studio’s motto is ‘Per Aspera, Ad Astra’ (‘through hardships, to the stars’) because we want to build an adventure that will stay fresh and provide a unique experience that will surprise and delight people each time they play, and I want us to acknowledge the challenges we are setting out to face. We're grateful to NetEase Games for giving us the creative freedom and resources to build this interconnected world that will expand beyond games and reach into other mediums as well.”
NetEase's president of global investments and partnerships Simon Zhu added: “When we met Paul, we immediately realised he had the passion to create truly magical worlds, with experiences that are surprising and offer something new every single time they are played. At NetEase Games, we believe in giving creators the ability to build games of lasting quality that will be played for many years to come. We know Anchor Point Studios is reaching for the stars and we’ll make every effort to help them get there."
