BlazBlue Producer Toshimichi Mori Joins NetEase to Found STUDIO FLARE

Do you remember Toshimichi Mori, the key producer of the BlazBlue series who left Arc System Works six months ago after the failure of the mobile game BBDW? He has officially announced his next move: joining NetEase to establish a new studio called STUDIO FLARE. The gaming community is buzzing, wondering if this hire is NetEase's attempt to elevate the 'aesthetic' of their ACG-style (Anime, Comic, Games) titles.

Mori revealed in an interview that his first project is already in development—a console-based action game featuring his signature, eccentric 'chuunibyou' (middle-school syndrome) style, set in a post-apocalyptic world filled with complex terminology. The game is expected to launch in four years. The community discussion is heated, with many debating whether the 'Pig Factory' (a common nickname for NetEase in the CN community) suffers more from poor art direction or predatory monetization strategies. While NetEase has been aggressively recruiting Japanese industry veterans like Hiroyuki Kobayashi and Toshihiro Nagoshi, players remain skeptical about whether these names can truly fix the developer's reputation for 'bad gacha practices.' Some long-time fans even brought up old controversies regarding asset similarities between DNF and BlazBlue, sparking a wave of nostalgia and debate.