Another one bites the dust. Fantastic Pixel Castle, the MMO studio founded by legendary game designer Greg Street (known in WoW circles as “Ghostcrawler”), is shutting down on November 17, 2025. Just two years after NetEase launched the studio with grand ambitions to create a modern fantasy MMORPG called “Ghost,” the entire operation is being dismantled. Approximately 30 developers will be laid off. Nothing released. Nothing even got close to releasing. Just another entry in what has become an embarrassing pattern of NetEase wasting resources on international studios before pulling the plug without warning.
Who Was Greg Street and Why Did He Start This?
Greg Street is one of the most respected game designers in MMO history. He was a lead systems designer at Blizzard Entertainment from 2008 to 2013 during World of Warcraft’s golden age. He shaped some of WoW’s most important systems, making him a household name in MMO circles. After leaving Blizzard, he moved to Riot Games where he worked on League of Legends and was spearheading development of an all-new MMO set in the League universe when he decided to leave Riot in 2023 to start something independent.
NetEase gave him his shot. The Chinese tech giant had been aggressively investing in Western game studios, recruiting veteran talent from major publishers and giving them resources to build new games. In 2023, NetEase founded Fantastic Pixel Castle with Street at the helm. The promise was simple: create a modernized fantasy MMORPG that focused on community and friends playing together rather than solo grinding. After years of MMO design mistakes, the vision was compelling. For about 18 months, it looked like NetEase was serious about supporting ambitious new games with top talent.
What Happened to Project Ghost?
Project Ghost, the codename for Fantastic Pixel Castle’s MMO, was designed around two distinct experiences. Blue Shard areas played like survival games where friends could party up to gather resources, build bases, and explore together. Red Shards featured more traditional MMORPG experiences with large-group content, world bosses, and permanent world changes that player actions could influence. It was ambitious, thoughtful design from a veteran creator.
The studio got far enough to create a fully playable hands-on demo that generated significant interest when shown to content creators. It wasn’t vapor. It wasn’t just concept art and developer blogs. They actually built something playable that worked. And then NetEase pulled the funding.
The Collapse: Four Western Studios Gone in One Year
Fantastic Pixel Castle isn’t an isolated incident. It’s the latest in a wave of closures that reveals NetEase’s international strategy was fundamentally broken. Over the past year, NetEase has shuttered four Western development studios:
– Worlds Untold (led by BioWare veteran Mac Walters) – Vancouver, Canada
– Jar of Sparks (founded by Xbox veteran Jerry Hook) – Seattle, Washington
– T-Minus Zero Entertainment (founded by Ultima Online and SWTOR veteran Rich Vogel) – Austin, Texas
– Fantastic Pixel Castle (Greg Street) – Location of closure not specified
That’s four studios. Four veteran-led teams. Four projects with senior, respected industry figures at the helm. None of them released a game. All of them shut down. All of them had their entire teams laid off.
The pattern is unmistakable: NetEase spent millions recruiting legendary game designers, giving them budgets, and letting them build prototypes. Then, without warning, they cancelled funding and walked away. Not a single Western studio made it to release. Not a single project even got close.
Why Is This Happening?
NetEase hasn’t officially said they’re pulling back from international operations, but that’s clearly what’s happening. The company initially denied reports of scaling back Western studios, but the evidence is overwhelming. Some industry observers point to China’s gaming regulations becoming stricter and online spending decreasing. Others suggest NetEase just overcommitted and realized the investment wasn’t paying off fast enough. Regardless of the reason, the result is the same: four dead projects and roughly 150+ game developers out of work.
What’s particularly galling is that NetEase seemed to understand what the industry needed. They were recruiting top talent. They were giving them proper budgets and runway. They were allowing teams to take creative risks on original IPs. That’s exactly what the industry has been asking for – publishers willing to invest in new games with established talent. And then they just… walked away.
Street’s Last Dignity: Helping His Team
In his LinkedIn announcement, Street emphasized that his priority isn’t saving the studio or preserving the game. It’s helping his developers find employment. “While we’d love to make our game, our first priority is to help our developers find employment, whether that’s at indie studio Fantastic Pixel Castle 2.0, or at many of the other fine (and hopefully stable) game and tech companies out there,” he wrote. He thanked NetEase “for taking a chance on us” but the message was clear: this is over, and now we salvage what we can.
There’s a glimmer of hope – he mentions that Fantastic Pixel Castle might relaunch as an independent studio if enough of the team stays together and they can secure outside funding. Some of the developers might continue as “Fantastic Pixel Castle 2.0,” an indie version of the same dream. But Street has been transparent about the obstacles: large-scale MMO development requires massive funding, and securing backing in the current market is brutally difficult.
| Studio | Founded | Closed | Leader | Project | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Worlds Untold | 2023 | Nov 2024 | Mac Walters | Unknown Project | Cancelled |
| Jar of Sparks | 2022 | 2025 | Jerry Hook | Unknown Project | Cancelled |
| T-Minus Zero | Aug 2023 | Sept 2025 | Rich Vogel | Sci-Fi Action Game | Cancelled, team revived as indie |
| Fantastic Pixel Castle | 2023 | Nov 17, 2025 | Greg Street | Project Ghost (MMO) | Cancelled, may go indie |
The Broader Message: What This Means for the Industry
NetEase’s Western studio implosion sends a terrible message at exactly the wrong time. When the industry is facing massive consolidation, when independent developers are struggling to secure funding, and when veteran talent is being pushed out through layoffs, NetEase pulls back from international investment. The company just demonstrated that even veteran designers with proven track records can’t secure backing for original games.
Ironically, these studios were trying to do exactly what everyone says the industry needs: develop new IP with experienced creators instead of milking franchises for profit. And it didn’t work. Not because the projects were bad – they had playable demos and industry interest – but because the economics don’t support ambitious new games anymore.
FAQs
When exactly does Fantastic Pixel Castle close?
Fantastic Pixel Castle closes its doors on November 17, 2025. All staff will be laid off, though there’s a possibility some developers might stay on if the studio can secure independent funding and relaunch as a smaller independent team.
Who is Greg Street?
Greg Street (known as “Ghostcrawler” in World of Warcraft) was a lead systems designer at Blizzard during WoW’s peak era (2008-2013). He later worked at Riot Games on League of Legends and an unnamed League MMO before founding Fantastic Pixel Castle in 2023.
What game was Fantastic Pixel Castle making?
The studio was developing “Project Ghost,” a modernized fantasy MMORPG that emphasized community and friends playing together. It featured two distinct gameplay experiences: Blue Shards for survival-style co-op adventuring, and Red Shards for traditional MMORPG large-group content.
How far along was Project Ghost?
The game was in active development with a fully playable hands-on demo that the studio showed to content creators. While far from release, the project was tangible enough to generate interest. It wasn’t cancelled at the concept stage – it was cancelled mid-development.
How many people work at Fantastic Pixel Castle?
Approximately 30 developers work at Fantastic Pixel Castle. They will all be laid off when the studio closes on November 17.
Is NetEase pulling back from Western game development?
While NetEase hasn’t officially stated this, the closure of four Western studios (Worlds Untold, Jar of Sparks, T-Minus Zero, and now Fantastic Pixel Castle) in the span of one year strongly suggests the company is retreating from international investment.
Could Fantastic Pixel Castle continue as an independent studio?
Possibly. Greg Street mentioned the possibility of a “Fantastic Pixel Castle 2.0” relaunching as an independent studio if enough of the current team remains and they can secure outside funding. However, funding an ambitious MMO independently is extremely difficult.
What happened to T-Minus Zero?
T-Minus Zero Entertainment, founded by Ultima Online and SWTOR veteran Rich Vogel, also shut down in 2025 after being founded in 2023. However, a small group of veteran directors and founders acquired the T-Minus Zero name and relaunched as an independent production company in November 2025.
Conclusion
Fantastic Pixel Castle’s closure is the latest depressing chapter in a year of depressing gaming industry news. NetEase spent millions recruiting top-tier talent, giving them proper resources, and letting them build ambitious new games. And then the company just walked away, leaving dozens of developers unemployed and four completed projects in the trash bin.
What makes it worse is that these studios were doing what everyone said the industry needed. They were making new IP with proven veteran talent. They had playable demos. They had industry interest. And none of it mattered because the business model doesn’t support ambitious new games anymore. NetEase’s retreat from Western development isn’t just bad news for the studios and developers affected. It’s bad news for everyone who believes the gaming industry should try new things instead of endlessly mining franchises for profit.