One of the studios NetEase killed earlier this year is back from the dead as an 'independent production company,' but its original boss is nowhere to be seen

One of America's greatest poets once said, "Everything dies, baby, that's a fact. But maybe everything that does someday comes back." I don't know if that's true for everything, but it is true for T-Minus Zero, the game studio founded in 2023 that just two years later fell victim to NetEase's brutal cutbacks.

"Earlier this year, our journey with NetEase Games came to a close," the updated T-Minus Zero website says (via GamesRadar). "Together, we accomplished something rare: a world-class team, a bold new IP, and a fully playable prototype that demonstrated both our creative and executional strength. The response from players, partners, and peers validated our belief that what we were building had genuine market potential. While shifting market conditions terminated that trajectory, they also clarified our path forward.

"A small group of veteran directors & founders have acquired the T-Minus Zero Entertainment name to carry the team's spirit forward and are relaunching as an independent production company—with a refined development model and a funding approach inspired by the independent film world: focused, project-based, and partnership-friendly."

What this resurrection means for the potential future of that "bold new IP," which was never revealed to the public, isn't entirely clear, although it sounds like T-Minus Zero is moving on to other things. Its mission, the site states boldly, is "to create high-quality, distinctive game experiences that connect people," built on "a genre-forward concept with strong proof-of-interest and scalability across platforms."

Look, I'm not going to pretend to know what that means, but it sounds like a pitch for money, and T-Minus Zero is in fact "now seeking co-financing partners for our next round of development financing." Its "immediate goal," the announcement continues, is to "bring our concept to full production with the right strategic allies—those who value quality gameplay-first experiences, executional excellence, and a sustainable business model."

Equally unclear is the fate of Rich Vogel, who headed T-Minus Zero prior to its closure earlier this year. Zachary Beaudoin, the studio's original production director, is now CEO, while former game director Mark Tucker is chief creative officer, former technical director Scott Stevens is chief technology officer, and former studio art director Jeff Dobson is chief art officer. Vogel is mentioned nowhere on the T-Minus Zero website; his LinkedIn page still lists him as founder and studio head, but given that the hammer fell on T-Minus Zero more than two months ago I'd guess that Vogel just hasn't bothered to update his profile yet.

Still, it feels a bit odd that the new owners, all of whom were involved in a high-level capacity in the studio's original incarnation, don't even acknowledge Vogel's existence, much less the role he played in bringing all of this together in the first place.

T-Minus Zero was part of NetEase's big push into Western game development, which included other studios headed up by industry veterans Mac Walters (Worlds Untold), Jerry Hook (Jar of Sparks), and Greg Street (Fantastic Pixel Castle.) But NetEase opted to reverse course just a couple years later, and all of them (with the very recent exception of T-Minus Zero) are now closed, without releasing a single game between them.