NetEase announced its financial results for the first quarter of 2026. The company demonstrated robust performance during the quarter, achieving net revenues of 30.6 billion yuan. Research and development investment for the period amounted to 4.5 billion yuan. Under non-GAAP measures, the net profit attributable to the company's shareholders was 11.3 billion yuan.
In the first quarter, NetEase's games and related value-added services generated net revenues of 25.7 billion yuan. The financial report indicates that several of NetEase's classic games, including the "Fantasy Westward Journey" series, "Identity V", and "Eggy Party", maintained strong player activity and revenue performance. Concurrently, the Blizzard series of products continued to operate steadily in the Chinese market.
Furthermore, "Where Winds Meet" achieved new highs in global user numbers and revenue, securing the second position on Steam's global bestseller list. "Marvel Rivals" also rose to become the second best-selling game on Steam in the United States. Major new titles such as "Once Human" and "Infinity Nikki" are progressing steadily in their development.
Specifically for "Once Human", the latest round of testing received an enthusiastic response. The game is scheduled to commence its third test on May 28 and is currently in the final preparatory stages before its public release.
NetEase's Youdao segment reported first-quarter net revenues of 1.3 billion yuan. Its operating profit remained positive for the seventh consecutive quarter, and its cash flow performance reached the best level for the same period since 2022.
During the reporting period, Youdao not only surpassed 100 million yuan in sales for its AI subscription services but also launched two milestone AI Agent products: Youdao Lobster and Youdao Treasure. Youdao Lobster has received over 5,200 stars on GitHub and earned a public endorsement from Peter Steinberger, recognized as the "Father of Lobster."
NetEase's innovation and other businesses segment recorded net revenues of 1.5 billion yuan for the first quarter. To mark its tenth anniversary, NetEase Yanxuan underwent a brand upgrade, established a global pet innovation and R&D center, and revitalized its brand membership center. NetEase Zhichi released an enterprise-level AI Agent management platform called ClawHive, designed to address four major challenges in corporate AI implementation: security, deployment, knowledge retention, and management.
Recently, products including NetEase Cloud Music, Youdao, NetEase News, NetEase Mail, and NetEase Little Bee have been fully integrated with the DeepSeek-V4 large language model.
NetEase's 2025 ESG report shows that the company's MSCI rating has been upgraded to the highest level of AAA. Its S&P Global ESG score significantly exceeds the industry average, and it has received a "Low Risk" rating from Sustainalytics for seven consecutive years.