Simon Zhu Launches GreaterThan Group To Invest In Video Games
Image Source: Yahoo Finance
It’s no secret that the video game industry is in a state of flux. With massive layoffs occurring over the last few years as developers are made to pay for the mistaken investments of those at the top, major exits from the industry like Phil Spencer, and uncertainty around pricing, it’s a precarious time for the video game industry.
That doesn’t seem to be scaring Simon Zhu, however.
If that name doesn’t sound familiar to you, you might recognize him as a former president of global investments and partnerships at NetEase Inc., a technology company out of China that slashed it’s gaming investment fund, and subsequently Zhu decided to leave his job. He did so to form GreaterThan Group, a new holding company to invest in games and operate studios around the world. So far, the company has secured $40 million dollars with further commitments for $60 million more, but he remains tight-lipped about his investors, though assured Bloomberg they are successful people in tech and gaming.
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Image Source: Bloomberg
Part of the strategy is to invest in highly anticipated games, like the recently announced Star Wars: Fate of the Old Republic. The game is being led by former Mass Effect director Casey Hudson, and the long-revered favorite Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. Hudson lost funding from NetEase when they slashed their investments, and has since been hiring up old talent from BioWare to work on Fate of the Old Republic.
Zhu told Bloomberg that at a time when investors abandoned gaming for AI, he sees a massive opportunity. He claimed you can have financial success and achieve the art at the same time. His favorite investments when he was at NetEase were the ones that valued the art and the human factor, the passion projects. Zhu felt the industry was cruel to developers and wanted to allow them to follow their dream projects. One of those other new projects he’s funding is a new shooter from David Vonderhaar at Bulletstorm. Vonderhaar described his vision for the game as not another military simulation, but more like if “David Lynch made shooters.”
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Source(s): Bloomberg
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