NetEase Connect 2023 recap - Everything we learned from NetEase's latest showcase

NetEase Connect 2023, the annual showcase for the massive mobile publisher, has now concluded. In just over an hour, the team showed off plenty of games, announcing updates for fan favourites and revealing entirely new games for us all to get excited about. There's plenty to get through, so let's not waste time and jump right into it.

If you're unfamiliar, Epic of Tia is an MMORPG creation platform. During the showcase, NetEase announced the Genesis Project expansion, a global launch that will allow anyone to create a game without any knowledge of coding or any tricky stuff like that. It uses a 'what you see is what you get' approach, meaning creating levels should be a simple process.

Once created, there is a revenue share system in place that will allow you to earn some money from your creations. Additionally, you can create servers that NetEase will maintain, removing that burden from yourself, and allowing you to focus on the creative side of your game. The app will also receive regular updates to introduce new items, NPCs, monsters and other video game staples.

If you're interested in learning more, check out the Epic of Tia website. 

Next up, NetEase showed off Eggy Party, a casual party game we've covered a few times here on Pocket Gamer. If you're unfamiliar, it sees you participating against other players in a series of minigames. You control one of the titular Eggys, which you can customise to give it a personal feel. At launch, the game will also include a map builder.

Chances are you've already heard of this one. Infinite Borders is a geostrategic SLG that boasts a massive player base. To ram that point home, NetEase pointed out there are 5.2 million guilds that have fought in over 244 million battles. The big announcement during the showcase was that the game will release in more countries in Europe and South East Asia soon.

If you're short on time but like cars and gaming, Ace Race is worth checking out. Its whole selling point is that races only take three minutes, making it perfect to play when you have a spare moment. You can race anything from luxury cars to tractors, so there's some good vehicular variety.

During NetEase Connect 2023, the team unveiled its upcoming third season with a sneak peek at the new vehicles. The first is The Paladin, a car apparently capable of sprouting angel wings mid-race. Then there's the Nyan, which, as you can probably guess from the game, sports a feline look and can use Meow Meow energy for a boost. Finally, there's the Cruiser, a Legendary support vehicle.

Next up, we had a quick teaser of Dead by Daylight Mobile's upcoming Dark Trails season, which will bring new characters and outfits.

New classic characters are on their way to Rise to War, further boosting the strategy game's roster. We can soon expect to see Gandalf the Grey, Legolas, Saruman, Gimli and the Witch-king of Angmar.

NetEase's space sim will receive its first major expansion later this year: The Lagrange Legacy. It will see players finding unidentified assets and artifacts. After learning about the tech and culture behind them, it will bring new changes to the gameplay.

The expansion also introduces special equipment on the base that will apparently revolutionise exploration and development. On top of that, players can improve their logistics equipment which, in turn, unlocks more options in battle.

Finally, we have NetEase's ludicrously popular asymmetrical survival game, Identity V. The team unveiled a trailer, providing a few teases of upcoming collaborations and additions. There was the mention of a new Hunter called the Opera Singer alongside two survivors – the Cheerleader and Aeroplanist.

I also saw a few collaborations teased with the likes of Kamaty Moon, Sanrio, Angels of Death, and Danganrompa Killing Harmony. Last, there was mention of something called the visual mode charity project.

During the showcase, NetEase also unveiled details for Mission Zero, Justice Mobile, Once Human, Ashfall, and Dunk City Dynasty. However, since they went a bit more in detail on those games, we'll cover them in separate articles, so keep your eyes peeled for those.