WoW designer begins new NetEase studio, works on Ghost MMO

Greg Street, a former lead systems designer for "World of Warcraft," has founded a new studio called Fantastic Pixel Castle under the umbrella of NetEase. This new studio consists of a team with extensive MMO development experience and operates remotely, allowing for a globally distributed workforce.

Fantastic Pixel Castle is currently working on an MMO with the working title "Ghost." While specifics about the game have not been disclosed, some artwork has been released. Street acknowledges the challenges of the MMO genre but believes the collective experience of the team will lead to success. The studio plans to share information and visuals of the game early in the development process to gather public feedback.

A Twitch stream is scheduled to broadcast additional details about Fantastic Pixel Castle and "Ghost". However, gameplay footage will not be shown at this time. This event will take place on an upcoming Wednesday at 20:00.

The Chinese company NetEase has been expanding its presence in the gaming industry, with acquisitions and establishment of studios such as Quantic Dream, Grasshopper Manufacture, Nagoshi Studio by Yakuza's creator, Anchor Point Studios by Control’s main designer, and PinCool by former Dragon Quest producer Ryutaro Ichimura. They have also started T-Minus Zero Entertainment in Texas, helmed by renowned MMO developer Rich Vogel.