Longtime Capcom producer Hiroyuki Kobayashi announced that he has left the company after 27 years to take up a position at NetEase.

He posted a statement today on Twitter saying that today was his 50th birthday and that he would be announcing his departure from Capcom and a new opportunity for him to work at NetEase.

Kobayashi has a long history at Capcom, his work goes all the way back to 1996 where he was a programmer on the original Resident Evil. During his time at Capcom, he has worked on 26 titles, and has been a producer for 20 of those titles, including Sengoku Basara, Dragon’s Dogma, Devil May Cry, and Resident Evil 4.

In addition to his work on games, Kobayashi also had a hand in the anime and animated film adaptations of many Capcom IPs, including Devil May Cry: The Animated Series, Resident Evil: Degeneration, and the multiple Sengoku Basara anime series

It seems that he will be taking up his same position as a producer for NetEase for the time being, but it is unclear what games or projects he will be working on. In his statement, Kobayashi states that he left Capcom on March 31st, 2022 and has, presumably, been preparing himself for his new position at NetEase during this time.

Kobayashi is not the first Japanese producer to leave for NetEase either, last year industry veteran Toshihiro Nagoshi left SEGA after 30 years to start a new studio under NetEase. Nagoshi is most well-known for Super Monkey Ball and the increasingly popular Yakuza game franchise.

It should come as no surprise that so many are moving over to NetEase either as the gaming market moves more towards as Live-Service model, it is hard to deny that NetEase has played a large role in that transition.

The work that Kobayashi has accomplished at Capcom will never be understated and it is exciting to see what he will be working on during his time at NetEase. Capcom will be left in good hands, and NetEase will only get stronger with another seasoned veteran on board.