PinCool is a new studio from a former Dragon Quest producer and NetEase

NetEase Games has announced a new study called pincooldirected by former Dragon Quest franchise producer Ryutaro Ichimura.

Announced today, May 29, the new studio is based in Tokyo, with a primary focus on video game development, but also plans to produce a variety of types of interactive entertainment. The studio is led by Ichimura, who has produced games like Dragon Quest 8 and 9, and has been in the game industry for over 20 years. Ichimura was also involved in the development of Dragon Quest: The Adventure of Dai, the anime adaptation of the long-running video game series.

More at PinCool’s websiteIchimura explained the origin of the name, writing, “The company name comes from the Japanese phrase ‘pin to kuru’, which expresses when an idea clicks. The English name ‘PinCool’ is pronounced similarly and is stylized for include the English word ‘cool’ as well.”

Ichimura also explained what the studio plans to work on: “As an entertainment production company, our core business is the design and production of games for consoles, but we won’t stop there. We will draw on our extensive experience to do design and production work on the entertainment industry, including mobile games, arcade games, manga, anime, movies, toys, theater, and events.” He also wrote that the studio plans to release smaller titles while working on the bigger ones.

So far there has been no mention of what kind of genres we can expect from the studio, so we’ll have to wait and see what it offers. NetEase Games has been steadily expanding its studio portfolio, last month announcing Anchorpoint Studio, which is led by former lead designer of Remedy Entertainment’s Control. NetEase is also potentially involved in a lawsuit against Blizzard for allegedly failing to deliver the refunds it promised to players in China.