Mattel to buy out NetEase’s stake in Mattel163 for $318 million

Mattel is planning to fully acquire Mattel163, the mobile studio it’s been running as a joint venture with Chinese publisher NetEase. The deal values Mattel163 at $318 million, with Mattel buying NetEase’s 50% stake. Netease has been divesting and slowly retreating from their Western investments over the years, the most notable example being the lay offs surrounding Marvel Rivals despite its huge success. Marvel Rivals director and the entire Seattle design team were laid off shortly after the game launched, with operations and design moving to China.

Mattel said it expects to close the acquisition by the end of the first quarter. More than half of the purchase price will be covered using Mattel’s share of the venture’s existing cash, according to the company.

Mattel163 was formed in 2018 as a partnership between the two companies. Since then, the studio has focused on mobile games built around Mattel’s brands, including UNO, UNO Wonder, Phase 10, and Skip-Bo.

Mattel also shared some scale numbers for the studio: around 20 million monthly active users and more than 550 million downloads worldwide across its portfolio.

In a statement, Mattel CEO Ynon Kreiz framed the buyout as part of the company’s push to strengthen its digital publishing capabilities. NetEase hasn’t announced what changes, if any, players should expect for Mattel163’s existing games as a result of the ownership shift.