Marvel and NetEase Announce Collaboration To Make Original Games And TV Series

Today, NetEase and Marvel announced a new partnership that will see the former release not one, not two, not three, not four, but potentially five different Marvel games this year. In addition to five games, the collaboration will also include TV series and comic books based on Marvel's universe and characters. The announcement came today during NetEase's annual games product launch event, and noted that the entertainment made from the collaboration will be released in China and beyond. In other words, some, if not all, of the products will be made for global audiences.

"Having admired the work Marvel has created over the years, we are excited to incorporate these beloved stories and characters into world-class entertainment content for global fans," said William Ding, founder and CEO of NetEase, while speaking about the announcement "Adhering to NetEase's brand statement of 'Passion of Gamers', we will work hard to deliver the type of high-quality content that game players and Marvel fans will be pleased to see."

"Marvel's Super Heroes have inspired an entire universe of storytelling that resonates across today's media – and games are one of the best ways to experience those stories," added Dan Buckley, president of Marvel Entertainment. "As a global leader in online games, NetEase is the perfect fit to help bring the Marvel Universe to more fans around the world. We can't wait to share more about the exciting new games and other content that will be developed with this partnership."

Of course, given how important the Chinese market is in entertainment, and increasingly in video games, it's not surprising that Marvel is looking to expand in the region. And if you're looking to do that, you can't do much better than partnering with NetEase.

At the moment of publishing, there's no word when we will start to see the fruits of this new partnership, but NetEase does say projects will starting releasing later this year. Further, finer details on the partnership -- such as the business details -- have not been divulged.

As always, feel free to leave a comment letting us know what you think or hit me up on Twitter @Tyler_Fischer_ and let me know over there.

Thanks, VentureBeat.