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Rich Vogel

Creator of Virtual Worlds, Strategic Advisor, Executive Producer, Studio Head, Founder

Today, I thought I would discuss our journey from pitching our game to becoming a first-party studio and the seven months since our inception. We had a good year in 2023, considering how difficult it was to get studio funding this year. By February and March, funding for games was almost nonexistent.  Many publishers and equity partners would talk to you, but that's all it was. It was a perfect storm: player hours dropping, publishers laying off thousands of developers, several games as a-service titles closing, and two central Silicon Valley banks collapsing played a big part in reducing the amount of funding available for games this year.  Both publishers and investors no longer viewed video games as a strong growth market like they did during the pandemic.

I was fortunate to start looking for a strategic partner in the fall of last year versus Dice in February. There were some significant challenges that I faced at the beginning. First, unlike the other studios I have started, I had to figure out how to get funding in a market where funding was getting harder and harder to find, and the second was how to build a high-performance team remotely. The business development experience that I learned at Certain Affinity (thank you, Max) and my contacts in the industry really helped me find the funding.  When GDC came around, we already had several offers, two first-party and one equity partner.  The biggest lesson I learned throughout the pitch process was that it is not all about the idea but the core team.  Ideas are easy to come up with, but the ability to execute is not.  Showing a strategic partner that you have a great idea (unique player experience) and can execute helped us seal the deal.

I have been a strategic advisor for several startup studios. I learned how difficult it is to ensure you have the funding needed to finish a game and, if you are developing games as a service product, keep it going the first year after launch. I saw studios make decisions based on survival vs. what was essential to build a compelling player experience. This leads to suboptimal results in building a fun and engaging game. I did not want to go down this rabbit hole and decided to become a first-party studio. That way, we can focus on making a great game instead of worrying about our runway. Now, to make sure we can focus on our game vs survival, we had to find the right strategic partner that would allow us to realize our dream. We decided that NetEase was our best choice. I have known them for over ten years and like that they are a company run by developers who understand the importance of building great player experiences.

Once we secured the funding, we had to recruit a team to build our game. We decided the best way to acquire talent is to build a remote first studio. This allowed us to find talent no matter where they are in North America (We are trying to keep the core team within a relatively close time zone with each other). Even though we all had experience running remote teams during the Pandemic, we still faced challenges.  How do you build a culture of high performance remotely?

Our core leadership team was already in place at the start of our pitch process, and we were fortunate to all be in Austin. However, one of the first issues I faced this year was finding a Head of Technology for our studio. We had someone at the start of our pitch process, but he got a fantastic offer right as we closed our deal. A company he had always wanted to work for.  He was torn on what to do, so I told him to accept the offer. One thing I learned is that we shouldn't hold people back from their dream job. We found someone a few months after we started.

Once the core leadership team was in place, we aimed to build a small, tight-core team to find the fun. A significant advantage of being a remote first studio is that we can offer people the ability to work remotely when major gaming studios require people to return to work. To compete with the big publishers, we had to figure out a good mix of compensation and benefits that would be competitive in today’s market. Working with NetEase recruiting and compensation teams, we found a compelling package to offer recruits.  Recruiting has gone a little slower with some critical positions than we would like, but overall, we are happy with our progress. We have grown to almost 20 people from our official start date in August. Our studio officially started in May, but it took me about four months to build the infrastructure necessary to start the studio (including finding a new Head of Technology).

The key to building a high-performance team is to keep it small and tight until you find the soul of the game. It is always tempting to continuously add people to move faster, but I have found that a myth. This allows us to be more agile and nimble while experimenting with different approaches to find the fun.  At the beginning of development, it is always chaotic. You won’t understand what you are doing until you start putting your ideas into the game engine and playing it. The sooner you can get there, the better off you will be. Spending too much time on the initial game concept is dangerous. I always found it better to keep everything at a high level and not overthink it. It took us about four months to finish the game concept. We are in the final phase of our first gate, called the Incubation Phase, and next year, we will start to build our prototype.

Okay, we got our funding, and recruiting is going well; how do we keep everyone rowing in the same direction and feeling that sense of urgency? One of our core values is Implicit Trust.  You have to trust your team members.  Don’t overmanage them; give them some guidance and let them figure out the “how.”  This is sometimes harder than you think in a remote environment. You don’t have immediate verification like walking past their desk at work or overhearing a hallway discussion. You must adopt tools and processes to trust but verify.

We have been experimenting with different approaches to help facilitate better communication, a sense of urgency, and learning to work together remotely (becoming a high-performance team). Everybody works differently – people who are heads down in their work and are not big socializers and people who need socialization to feel like part of something bigger.  You need to develop processes for both types of people. We require people to have agendas before virtual meetings, and if something can be discussed in Slack or email, don’t schedule a meeting. Any vital topic will be recorded for people who could not attend and posted in the appropriate Slack channel.  Additional feedback or follow-up can be done on that channel.  We have monthly team meetings that provide a platform for teammates to show their work and for us as a team to discuss our path forward.

We use the standard tools available today, like Slack, Teams, Zoom, Confluence, Miro, and Jira, but none of these tools really help build a high-performance team.  I believe in developing a high-performance team; you must build trust through in-person interaction and recruiting low-maintenance developers (proactive people who drive forward without much direction).

Intrinsic trust and thinking like an entrepreneur are two of our core values at T-Minus Zero Entertainment. I am a big believer that to build a studio culture, you need to be able to interact with your teammates in person. I don’t see any substitute for this. We decided to do quarterly meetups with our team in different locations throughout NA.  During these offsites, we will have several presentations about the game, brainstorming sessions, retrospectives, and team-building activities (board games).  This helps facilitate better communication and bonding as a team (trust). Another way to help facilitate communications and socialization is to try to recruit in specific regions within NA.  I called this a hub (Austin) and spoke (regions within NA) model. Once we reach a certain point in that region, we offer people a place to meet, like WeWork, if they want to. That way, team members don’t feel so isolated.

We are just starting to figure out better ways to work together, and next year will give us plenty of opportunities to evolve and fine-tune our approach to building a high-performance team.  I’ll discuss more about that in a future article. I will leave you with a clip from my post about our August announcement. I feel it sums up the journey that we started this year.

“What Is the significance of our name? Our name came from the old Apollo program. Every time NASA launched a Saturn V rocket, they went through a carefully orchestrated launch sequence. Everything had to be perfectly synced to launch a rocket into space successfully. At T-Minus, 15 seconds, it gets intense. Guidance becomes internal, the swing arm on the top of the rocket moves away, cables start to be removed, and all engines run. At T-Minus Zero, the huge clamps that hold the rocket straight are unlocked and moved away. The rocket is now on its own power, lifting itself away from the launch pad. This is when you hear from launch control, “We have liftoff,” and the clock begins. It takes a lot of energy and precision to reach escape velocity. Many things can go wrong or must be corrected to achieve a sustainable orbit around Earth, just like it takes lots of energy to make a game. Everyone on the team will put their hearts, soul, and precision into making a great player experience. Our journey will be filled with challenges, and we will have to course correct as we hit them along the way. Our biggest fear will be launching a game that no one cares about. We must conquer that fear by focusing on the player’s experience and providing a game where people form lasting relationships.”

I want to wish everyone a very happy and prosperous new year!

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PRIVACY POLICY FOR NETEASE SERVICES
1. INTRODUCTION

This Privacy Policy informs you of your choices and our practices regarding and use of any personal information you provide to us or collected through the product(s), service(s) and related websites (collectively, the “Services”) distributed by NetEase Interactive Entertainment Pte. Ltd. and its affiliates and subsidiaries (“NetEase”, the “Company”, “we”, “us” or “our”). It is important for you to understand how this happens and how you may control the collection and use of your personal information. This Privacy Policy applies to any Service that links directly to it.

When you access, use or register for the Services, you accept our rules and policies regarding your personal information and you expressly consent to us collecting, processing, using and storing your personal information, as described in this policy.

This Privacy Policy does not apply to third party websites, online properties, or systems to which the Services may link or through which the Services may be accessed, and you accept NetEase is not responsible for the security or privacy practices of any such third party websites, properties, or systems. Sometimes, we may direct you to a site, product, or service operated by a vendor or partner. Even though the page where you provide information may have the look and feel of the Services, a different privacy policy may govern that information collection and use by our vendor or partner.

You acknowledge that you have read and understood this privacy policy. If you do not agree with this Privacy Policy, you must not access, use or register for the Services. If you change your mind in the future, you may withdraw your consent to use of your personal information in accordance with this policy.

If you have any comments, questions or complaints regarding the processing of your personal information, you can contact us at privacy.glo@list.nie.netease.com or at 11400 West Olympic Blvd. Suite 200, Los Angeles, California 90064, USA.

2. THE TYPES OF PERSONAL INFORMATION WE USE

This section describes the different types of personal information we collect and how we collect it. We will collect and use the following information about you:

2.1 Information You Give Us

(i) When you register for the Services using an email address (including your email address and your name/nickname/username);

(ii) When you register for the Services using a third-party social media or similar account (e.g. Facebook, Twitter, Google or Apple, each a “Social Media Account”) in order to set up your profile (we import from your connected Social Media Account your personal information which may include your name/nickname/username as it appears on your social media profile, your profile picture, your friend list, and your account ID);

(iii) When you set up your profile for the Services (including information you voluntarily elect to provide, including but not limited to your name/nickname/username, your gender, your age, etc.) and secure your account for the Services (including information you provide to help secure the account, including but not limited to your phone number, email address, security questions, etc.);

(iv) When you submit your name, date of birth, domestic citizenship or foreign status information for age verification or compliance with applicable laws and regulations;

(v) When you submit your contact and other details to us (e.g. your name, age, email address and physical address) as part of promotional activities for the Services;

(vi) When you submit your contact details and/or resume to us (including your name, email address, physical address, employment history, etc.) as part of applying for a job opportunity; and

(vii) When you use location-based functions in the Services (“Location Services”) (including GPS location information, cell-ID, Wi-Fi connection location).

2.2 Information We Collect About You

We automatically collect certain data from you when you use the Services, including your IP address and device information (such as device type, network data, operating system) and information regarding your use of and interaction with the Services, such as date and time stamps of actions. We also collect and store your data each time you interact with us, for example, when you use in-app support to communicate with us.

2.3 Information You Generate and Display in the Course of Using the Services

You may provide additional information as part of your profile. You may also provide or generate information when you communicate with other users in the Services (e.g., community forum). You acknowledge and agree that information generated within the Services should not be considered private and communications within the Services may be viewed/heard by other users. Please avoid revealing any personally identifiable or sensitive information during such communications.

2.4 Cookies and Other Tracking Technologies

We may use cookies and other similar technologies (e.g. web beacons, log files, scripts and eTags) (“Cookies”) to understand and enhance your experience with the Services. NetEase and certain third parties, such as marketing partners and analytics providers may use tracking technologies such as cookies and/or similar technologies on the Services. For more information about NetEase's use of cookies, and how you can withhold or withdraw your consent to using your data for targeted advertising purposes, please see our Cookie Policy, which is also incorporated by reference into this privacy policy and made part of this privacy policy.

3. CHILDREN'S PRIVACY

We do not knowingly collect or store any personal information from children under 13 in the United States or under the relevant age threshold in other jurisdictions where the child is located. In some cases, we may ask the user to provide us with their date of birth date for age verification. If such information indicates the user is under the age stipulated by the applicable laws and deemed as child under such laws, we will not collect further personal information from the child until a parent/guardian's verifiable consent is obtained. If you believe that we have unintentionally collected your child's personal information or otherwise used your child's personal information for another purpose, you may contact us at privacy.glo@list.nie.netease.com or at 11400 West Olympic Blvd. Suite 200, Los Angeles, California 90064, USA.

We recognize a special need to protect the personal information of children. We urge parents to instruct their children to never give out their real names, addresses, phone numbers, or other personal information without parental permission, when online. We also recommend that parents familiarize themselves with parental controls available on consoles, mobile telephones, tablets and other devices they provide to their child and accompany their child when online. Parents should contact NetEase immediately at privacy.glo@list.nie.netease.com or at 11400 West Olympic Blvd. Suite 200, Los Angeles, California 90064, USA if they have any concerns.

4. HOW WE USE YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION

We use and share your information (i) to provide the services under the Terms of Use, (ii) with your consent, (iii) in our or others' legitimate interests (such as safety, security, and providing a tailor service), and (iv) for other legal reasons.

We rely on a number of legal bases to collect, use, share and otherwise process the information we have about you for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy. These legal bases include:

  • Registration Information (such as: ID on Social Media Accounts, email address, nickname, avatar, username, password, phone number, security questions, date of birth and other information): We use Registration Information to set-up user accounts, allow users to log-in to the Services by using the Registration Information, maintain and secure the user accounts with us, and provide the Services to users. We use this information with your consent to this Privacy Policy.

  • Device Information (such as: device ID, device type, operating system, CPU, RAM, IP address, MAC address): We use this information to provide and improve the Services such as: to allow users to download and install the software on their devices; to record and keep track of requests from users of the Services; to detect the user network and device status when the user is using the Services; and to correct bugs or errors that occur when the user is using the Services. Use of Device Information is necessary to perform our contract with you to provide the Services.

  • Contact Information (such as: name, email address, physical address, phone number): We use this information to send notifications to users to inform them of any company updates or promotional activities. We use this information with your consent to this Privacy Policy.

  • User Profile (such as: age, gender, photo, etc.): We use this information to provide customized services to users such as personal information page. We use this information with your consent to this Privacy Policy.

  • Applicant Information (such as: name, email address, mailing address, phone number, employment-related information, education information, etc.): We use this information when you apply for a job opportunity with the Company, accepting and evaluating applicant submissions for job postings, and making hiring decisions. We use this information with your consent.

  • Location Data (such as: GPS location information, cell-ID, Wi-Fi connection location). With your consent, we use this information to provide Location Services to users and to record and keep track of requests from users of the Services. Use of Location Data is limited to the context of location-based services. You can disable Location Services by turning off the relevant switch in the settings of the Services or your device.

We may associate all of the foregoing information with your account, the device you use to access the Services, or email that you use to engage with us. We use this information with your consent to this Privacy Policy.

In addition to the specific uses of information described above, we may use all of the above information to provide, improve and develop the Services, including as we describe in our User Agreement, to comply with any applicable legal obligations, to enforce any applicable terms of service, to protect or defend the Services, our rights, the rights of our users, or others, for the purpose of combatting fraud, or to otherwise operate our business.

5. HOW WE STORE AND SHARE YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION

In order to perform our contract with you, your personal information will be accessible from and will be processed on our servers. Our servers are hosted on cloud servers such as Amazon Web Services. Your information may be transferred to and processed in countries outside the country you are located. We will take steps necessary to comply with applicable legal requirements, such as using European Commission approved Standard Contractual Clauses to protect your information. In particular, your information will be transferred to and processed in Japan where our central database is based.

We may share your personal information with selected third parties in and outside your country, including:

  • Third-party vendors that provide services in support of the Services, such as WorkDay for the purpose of job postings and job application submission. Such third-party vendors have limited access to your personal information and are contractually bound not use it for other purposes.

  • Related group companies, with whom we share your information to operate the Services. The transfers contemplated above are made pursuant to our contract with you; and

  • Law enforcement agencies, public authorities or other judicial bodies and organizations. We disclose information if we are legally required to do so, or if we have a good faith belief that such use is reasonably necessary to: (i) comply with a legal obligation, process or request; (ii) enforce our terms of service and other agreements, policies, and standards, including investigation of any potential violation thereof; (iii) detect, prevent or otherwise address security, fraud or technical issues; or (iv) protect the rights, property or safety of us, our users, a third party or the public as required or permitted by law (including exchanging information with other companies and organizations for the purposes of fraud protection).

  • Business partners and third parties (e.g., other companies, retailers, research organizations, advertisers, ad agencies, advertising networks and platforms, participatory databases, publishers, and non-profit organizations) that provide advertising or may want to market products or services to you. If we share personal information with such unaffiliated third parties for their own marketing purposes, we will provide you with an opportunity to opt out of such uses either at the point of collection or through the choice mechanisms set forth in this Privacy Policy.

  • In the event of a business transaction, such as if we or one of our business units or our relevant assets are acquired by, sold to, or merged with another company or as part of a bankruptcy proceeding or a business reorganization.

6. THE SECURITY OF YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION

We are committed to maintaining the privacy and integrity of your personal information no matter where it is stored. We have information security and access policies that limit access to our systems and technology. We deploy a firewall and other security measures (such as encryption) commensurate to industry standards to prevent unauthorized access to your personal information. Your personal information will remain subject to our technical and organizational controls and our policies and procedures (including this Privacy Policy). Unfortunately, the transmission of information via the internet is not completely secure. Although we will do our best to protect your personal information, we cannot guarantee the security of the information transmitted to the Services; any transmission of your information is at your own risk.

7. DATA RETENTION

We will retain most of your personal information for the lifetime of your use of the Services (i.e. until account deletion in accordance with your request) except that Contact Information obtained from promotional activities will be retained during the lifetime of such activities.

In the event that the processing and retention period have terminated, but personal information is required to be retained continuously for other reasons including for the purposes as prescribed under applicable laws, the relevant personal information will be stored and maintained separately from other types of personal information. If you require us to destroy your personal information before the end of its life cycle, we will destroy your personal information in accordance with local laws.

8. YOUR RIGHTS
8.1 International Transfer

We operate internationally, and many of our computer systems are currently based in the United States, which means Information we collect will be processed by us in the U.S. where data protection and privacy regulations may not offer the same level of protection as in other parts of the world, such as the European Union. If you access, use or register for the Services from outside the United States, you consent to the collection and/or processing in the United States of Information we collect from you.

8.2 California Collection Notice

This section addresses legal obligations and rights laid out in the California Consumer Privacy Act (“CCPA”) and other laws that apply only to California residents. These obligations and rights apply to businesses doing business in California and to California residents and information that identifies, relates to, describes, is reasonably capable of being associated with, or could reasonably be linked, directly or indirectly, with California consumers or households (“California Information”). It does not apply to information that has been de-identified or aggregated as provided by CCPA.

Depending on how you interact with us, we may collect about you the categories of information summarized below. We also describe below how we collect and use such categories of information. These categories of personal information are shared with third parties as described in detail in Section 5 above.

Categories of Information Collected

  • Identifiers and Contact or Registration Information, e.g., name, email address, mailing address, phone number, account username, and third party account names;

  • Device Information and Device Identifiers, e.g., IP address; browser type and language; operating system; platform type; device type; software and hardware attributes; and unique device, advertising, and app identifiers;

  • Geolocation, e.g., city, state and ZIP code associated with your IP address;

  • Job applicant Information, e.g., name, email address, mailing address, phone number, employment-related information, education information, etc.);

  • User-generated content, e.g., photos, videos, audio, any information you submit in forums, chat or message boards;

  • Customer service information, e.g., questions and other messages you address to us directly through online forms, chat, by email, or by mail;

  • Other Information, e.g., any other information you choose to directly provide to us in connection with your use or access of the Service.

Purposes of Use

  • Perform the services, and personalizing your experience on the Services;

  • Commercial purposes, such as operating our business, or sending newsletters or marketing, and to provide you with targeted advertising;

  • Detect security incidents and secure our website;

  • Undertaking activities to verify and maintain the quality of the Services.

  • Sources of Personal Information

  • You, both directly and through your use of the Services

  • Our vendors and business partners (for example, data analytics providers, advertisers, media partners or platform providers)

  • NetEase group companies

  • Social Media and other third party accounts

We may share information falling into the categories of information described above with NetEase group companies and third parties for the specified purposes as follows:

  • with the various NetEase group companies, including for the group companies' own marketing purposes;

  • with NetEase vendors, partners and licensees to provide you with services you have requested, or create applications and websites that benefit our community;

  • if required to do so by applicable law, regulation or legal process;

  • if necessary to exercise, establish or defend our legal rights;

  • if necessary to protect the vital interests of any person; and

  • in connection with the sale of our business or assets.

8.3 Your California Privacy Rights

Without being discriminated against for exercising these rights, California residents have the right to request that we disclose what personal information we collect from you, to delete that information, and to opt-out of the sale of your personal information, subject to certain restrictions. You also have the right to designate an agent to exercise these rights on your behalf. This section describes how to exercise those rights and our process for handling those requests.

8.4 Privacy Information for Nevada Residents

Under Nevada law, Nevada residents who have purchased goods or services from us may opt out of the “sale” of “covered information” (as such terms are defined under Nevada law) for monetary consideration to a person for that person to license or sell such information to additional persons. “Covered information” includes first and last name, address, email address, and phone number, or an identifier that allows a specific person to be contacted either physically or online. As discussed above, we share your information with certain third parties that we believe can provide you with offers and promotions for products and service of interest to you and in the other ways described above. We do not believe that our sharing in this regard would qualify as a sale under Nevada law. Nonetheless, if you are a Nevada resident who has purchased goods or services from us, you may submit a request to record your preference to opt out by emailing us at privacy.glo@list.nie.netease.com. Please note we may take reasonable steps to verify your identity and the authenticity of the request.

8.5 Privacy Information for Users in the EEA and the UK

We only process or transfer your personal information where we can rely on legal grounds and appropriate safeguards to do so. We process your information for the purposes set out below.

Performance of the Services

We process your personal information for the performance of the Services, to provide or support of our products, or for any other feature you request or enable. This includes, for example, using your personal information to:

  • administer your account;

  • support game functionality;

  • provide global customer service; or

Consent

We process your personal information based on your consent. This includes, for example, providing:

  • newsletters and direct e-mails about the Services that may be of interest to you;

  • targeted ads; and

  • certain other marketing features.

Legitimate Interest

We process your personal information where we have a legitimate interest to do so. This includes, for example, processing:

  • to provide you with requested customer service or technical support;

  • to debug and improve our current and future Services;

  • in order to give you personalize your online experience with us and contact you in accordance with applicable marketing preferences;

  • to allow third party partners and licensees to create applications and websites that benefit our users; and

  • for the establishment, exercise or defense of legal claims or whenever courts are acting in their judicial capacity.

Legal Obligation

We process your personal information for compliance with a legal obligation to which we are subject.

8.6 Disclosure to Users Outside the US, the EEA and the UK

In addition, if you are a visitor to our websites or other online products and services from outside the U.S., the personal information you provide will be collected, processed and stored directly on, or transferred to, servers in the United States or other countries where NetEase group companies or our other partners or vendors maintain facilities or business operations.

No matter where the Information is located, NetEase takes commercially reasonable measures to safeguard your privacy rights in accordance with this Privacy Policy. If you do not agree to the collection, processing, storage and transfer of your Information, please do not provide your Information when requested and stop using our websites and other online products and services.

9. ACCESS

You have the right to access personal information we hold about you, how we use it, and who we share it with. If you believe we hold any personal information about you, please contact us at privacy.glo@list.nie.netease.com or at 11400 West Olympic Blvd. Suite 200, Los Angeles, California 90064, USA.

10. PORTABILITY

You have the right to receive a copy of certain personal information we process about you. This comprises any personal information we process on the basis of your consent or pursuant to our contract with you, as described in the section “How We Use Your Personal Information”. You have the right to receive this information in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format. You also have the right to request that we transfer that personal information to another party.

If you wish for us to transfer such personal information to a third party, please ensure you detail that party in your request. Note that we can only do so where it is technically feasible. Please note that we may not be able to provide you with personal information if providing it would interfere with another's rights (e.g., where providing the personal information we hold about you would reveal information about another person or our trade secrets or intellectual property).

11. CORRECTION

You have the right to correct any personal information held about you that is inaccurate. If you believe we hold any personal information about you and that information is inaccurate, please contact us at privacy.glo@list.nie.netease.com or at 11400 West Olympic Blvd. Suite 200, Los Angeles, California 90064, USA.

12. ERASURE

You can delete your account, or remove certain personal information. If there is any personal information you believe we process that you would like us to erase, please contact us at privacy.glo@list.nie.netease.com or at 11400 West Olympic Blvd. Suite 200, Los Angeles, California 90064, USA.

You may request that we erase the personal information we hold about you in the following circumstances:

  • You believe that it is no longer necessary for us to hold such personal information; or

  • You believe the personal information we hold about you is being unlawfully processed by us.

You can also exercise your right to restrict our processing of your personal information (as described below) whilst we consider your request.

We may need to retain personal information if there are valid grounds under data protection laws for us to do so (e.g., for the defense of legal claims or freedom of expression) but we will let you know if that is the case. Where you have requested that we erase personal information that has been made available publicly on the Services and there are grounds for erasure, we will use reasonable steps to try to tell others that are displaying the personal information or providing links to the personal information to erase it too.

13. RESTRICTION OF PROCESSING TO STORAGE ONLY

You have a right to require us to stop processing the personal information we hold about you other than for storage purposes in certain circumstances. Please note, however, that if we stop processing the personal information, we may use it again if there are valid grounds under data protection laws for us to do so (e.g., for the defense of legal claims or for another's protection). As above, where we agree to stop processing the personal information, we will try to tell any third party to whom we have disclosed the relevant personal information so that they can stop processing it too.

You may request we stop processing and just store the personal information we hold about you where:

  • You believe the personal information is not accurate for the period it takes for us to verify whether it is accurate;

  • You wish to erase the personal information as the processing we are doing is unlawful but you want us to retain the personal information but just store it instead; or

  • You wish to erase the personal information as it is no longer necessary for our purposes but you require it to be stored for the establishment, exercise or defense of legal claims.

14. OBJECTION

You have the right to object to our processing of personal information about you. We will consider your request in other circumstances as detailed below by contact us at privacy.glo@list.nie.netease.com or at 11400 West Olympic Blvd. Suite 200, Los Angeles, California 90064, USA.

15. ANNOUNCEMENTS

We may from time to time send you announcements when we consider it necessary to do so (such as when we temporarily suspend Service access for maintenance, or security, privacy or administrative-related communications). You may not opt-out of these service-related announcements, which are not promotional in nature.

16. CONTACT & COMPLAINTS

For the purposes of European Data Protection Law, the Data Controller is NetEase Interactive Entertainment Pte. Ltd.

If you wish to make a complaint about how we process your personal information, please contact us at:

NetEase Interactive Entertainment Pte. Ltd.

11400 West Olympic Blvd. Suite 200

Los Angeles, California 90064

USA

Attn: Privacy / Legal Department

Email: privacy.glo@list.nie.netease.com

This is without prejudice to your right to launch a claim with the data protection authority in the country in which you live or work where you think we have infringed data protection laws.

17. CHANGES

If we make any material changes to this policy, we will post the updated policy here and we may notify our users through their account. Please check this page frequently to see any updates or changes to this policy.

18. LANGUAGE

This Agreement may be translated into the local language in the relevant territory. In the event of a conflict between this Agreement in the English language version and the localized version, the English language version shall prevail.

Effective: September 26, 2022

TERMS OF USE FOR NETEASE SERVICES
1. INTRODUCTION
1.1 Agreement

You agree that by accessing, using or registering for the Services (as defined below), you are entering a legally binding agreement with NetEase Interactive Entertainment Pte. Ltd. and its affiliates and subsidiaries (collectively, “NetEase”, “Company”, “we”, “us”, or “our”). If you do not agree to the following terms, do not access or otherwise use any of the Services.

The terms of this agreement include these Terms of Use, our Privacy Policy, and our Cookie Policy (collectively, the “Agreement”).

THESE TERMS OF USE ALSO INCLUDE A PROVISION FOR RESOLUTION OF DISPUTES BY ARBITRATION ON AN INDIVIDUAL BASIS INSTEAD OF IN COURT AND LIMITS THE REMEDIES AVAILABLE IN THE EVENT OF A DISPUTE. SEE SECTION 13

1.2 Services

The “Services” means sites, products, or other offerings we provide, including but not limited to:

  • Company websites, pages, sites or accounts accessible through any Internet or wireless enabled device (each, a “Website”); and Mobile applications or other software and related offerings.

By using or accessing the Services in any manner, you or the entity you represent (“you,” or “your”) agree that you have read and agree to be bound by this Agreement to the exclusion of all other terms. If you do not agree to all the terms and conditions of this Agreement, you have no right to use and should not use the Services.

Subject to your complete compliance with this Agreement, Company grants you a limited, non-exclusive, non-sublicensable, non-transferable, and fully revocable license to access, view, and use the Services for your personal, non-commercial use solely as provided by this Agreement and as expressly permitted by the features and functionality of the Services. Except as expressly provided herein, Company does not grant you any other express or implied right or license in or related to the Services. All right, title, and interest in and related to the Services are retained by Company.

1.3. Modifications

We reserve the right, in our sole discretion, to modify this Agreement from time to time. You agree that we may notify you of changes to the Agreement by posting them on the Services and agree that your continued use of the Services after such notice constitutes your agreement to the updated terms. If you object to any changes, you may discontinue use of the Services. Your continued use of our Services after we publish or send a notice about our changes to these terms means that you are consenting to the updated terms.

2. OBLIGATIONS
2.1 Access to the Services

The Services are owned and operated by Company. We may change, suspend or discontinue the Services at any time, including the availability of any feature, database, or Content (as defined below). We may also impose limits on certain features and services or restrict your access to parts or all of the Services without notice or liability.

2.2 Accessibility

Company is committed to ensuring that our website, content and Services are as accessible to everyone, including those with disabilities. If you have any difficulties with using this website or any questions or concerns regarding accessibility, please contact us at accessibility.glo@list.nie.netease.com.

2.3 Service Eligibility

You must be 18 or older to use the Services. Minors under 18 and at least 13 years of age are only permitted to use the Services through an account owned by a parent or legal guardian with their appropriate permission and under their direct supervision. Children under 13 are not permitted to use the Services. This Agreement is void where prohibited by law, and the right to access the Services is revoked in such jurisdictions.

2.4 Notices and Messages

You agree that we will provide notices and messages to you in the following ways: (1) through the applicable Service or Website, or (2) sent to the contact information (if any) you provided us (e.g. email, phone number, physical address). You agree to keep your contact information up to date.

Please review your applicable settings and/or email preferences to control and limit messages you receive from us.

3. WEBSITE, SERVICES AND CONTENT

The Website, the Services, and their Content (as defined below) are intended solely for use by Users of the Services (“Users”) and may only be used in accordance with the terms of this Agreement. All materials displayed or performed on the Website or through the Services (including, but not limited to videos, text, graphics, articles, photographs, images, and illustrations (collectively, the “Content”) are protected by copyright, pursuant to U.S. copyright laws, international conventions, and other copyright laws. You shall abide by all copyright notices, trademark rules, information, and restrictions contained therein, and shall not use, copy, reproduce, link to, modify, translate, publish, broadcast, transmit, distribute, perform, upload, display, license, sell or otherwise exploit any of the foregoing for any purposes whatsoever: (i) without the express prior written consent of the respective owners, and (ii) in any way that violates any third party right.

Company reserves all of its intellectual property rights in the Website and Services. Using the Website and Services does not give you any ownership therein. Trademarks and logos used on and in connection with the Website and Services are the trademarks of their respective owners. NetEase and its affiliates' trademarks, service marks, graphics, and logos used for our Website and Services are trademarks or registered trademarks of Company.

3.1 Your Content

User Submissions

You understand that by posting information or content on the Website or otherwise providing content, materials or information to Company or in connection with the Services (collectively, “User Submissions”), you grant Company a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty free, perpetual, irrevocable, sublicenseable and transferable right to fully exploit, reformat, modify, create derivative works of, excerpt, or translate such User Submissions (including all related intellectual property and proprietary rights) in connection with the Services, the Website, and Company's (and its successors' and assigns') business, including without limitation for promoting and redistributing part or all of the Services (and derivative works thereof) in any media formats and through any media channels. For clarity, the foregoing license grant to Company does not affect your ownership of or right to grant additional licenses to the material in your User Submissions, unless otherwise agreed in writing.

You also grant each User of the Services a non-exclusive license to access your User Submissions through the Services, and to view, use, modify, reproduce, distribute, prepare derivative works of, display and perform such User Submissions as permitted through the functionality of the Services and under this Agreement.

You waive any and all rights of privacy, publicity, or any other similar rights of a similar nature in connection with your User Submissions, or any portion thereof, including, without limitation, your name, likeness, voice, image, and persona or any advertising or publicity relating thereto. To the extent any moral rights are not transferable or assignable, you hereby waive and agree never to assert any and all moral rights, or to support, maintain or permit any action based on any moral rights that you may have in or with respect to any User Submissions. You expressly release Company and all of Company's agents, partners, subsidiaries, affiliates, licensees, successors, and assigns from any and all claims, demands, liabilities, and causes of action, whether now known or unknown, for defamation, copyright infringement, violation of moral rights, and invasion of the rights to privacy, publicity, or personality or any similar matter, or based upon or relating to the use of your User Submissions. Notwithstanding the preceding sentences of this Section, you should let us know immediately if you object to any uses of your User Submissions on or through the Services or in the promotion of the Services.

The rights granted in this Section include, but are not limited to, the right to use your name, image, voice, likeness, and any photographs or artwork made available by or on your behalf through the Services in connection with advertising, marketing, or promoting you, your User Submissions, Company, or the Services. You waive any rights to prior inspection or approval of any marketing or promotional materials related to such User Submissions.

If you are not the owner of, or are not fully authorized to grant all necessary rights in, all of the elements of the User Submissions you intend to upload or transmit to or through the Services, then you must not upload the User Submissions to or through the Services. Company reserves the right to demand confirmation from you in writing of all authorizations, licenses, permissions, and consents obtained by you (if any) with respect to any third-party materials embodied in User Submissions. If you fail to provide Company with such confirmation upon request, we reserve the right to remove or deny access to any or all of your User Submissions and to suspend or terminate your account with Company. We will have no liability to you for any actions taken by us pursuant to this Section.

User Information

We may access, store, process and use any information and personal data that you provide in accordance with the terms of the Privacy Policy and your choices (including settings). You also agree that your account information will be truthful.

User Feedback

We may use any reports, comments, and suggestions in any form regarding the Services that you provide to us (collectively, the “Feedback”). You grant us a worldwide, non-exclusive, irrevocable, perpetual, royalty-free right and license to incorporate and use the Feedback in connection with any products and services.

3.2 Other Users' Content

You understand that all information publicly posted or privately transmitted through the Services is the sole responsibility of the User from which such Content originated and that Company will not be liable for any errors or omissions in any Content. You understand that Company cannot guarantee the identity of any other Users with whom you may interact in the course of using the Services. Additionally, Company cannot guarantee the authenticity of any data which Users or merchants may provide about themselves. You acknowledge that all Content accessed by you using the Services is at your own risk and you will be solely responsible for any damage or loss to any party resulting therefrom.

Under no circumstances will Company be liable in any way for any Content, including, but not limited to, any errors or omissions in any Content, or any loss or damage of any kind incurred in connection with use of or exposure to any Content posted, emailed, accessed, transmitted, or otherwise made available via the Services.

3.3 Unsolicited Submissions

Company does not accept unsolicited submissions (“Unsolicited Submissions”) of concepts, creative ideas, stories, designs or other creative content. Company is continuously engaged in active research and development of new products, websites and services as well as improvements and enhancements to existing functions, features or other aspects of the Services and Company's products. Please do not send us any Unsolicited Submissions to avoid the possibility of future misunderstandings when projects, improvements or enhancements developed by Company might seem to be similar or identical to any part of an Unsolicited Submission. In the event you do send us an Unsolicited Submission, you understand and agree that your Unsolicited Submission does not create any relationship between you and Company; we are under no obligation to refrain from using the Unsolicited Submission (in whole or in part), to keep it confidential, or to compensate you for any use of it.

3.4 Automated Processing

We may use the information and data that you provide and that we have about Users to make recommendations for content and features that may be useful to you.

3.5 Availability; Access

We may change, suspend or discontinue any or all of the Services or feature or functionality for the Services. We don't promise to store or keep showing any information and Content that you've posted.

You agree that we have no obligation to store, maintain or provide you a copy of any Content or information that you or other Users provide, except to the extent required by applicable law and as noted in our Privacy Policy.

Company reserves the right to limit your use of the Services and to restrict, suspend, or terminate such use if Company believes that you may be in breach of this Agreement or law or are misusing the Services.

3.6 Third Party Services

The Website or Services may link to, allow access to or otherwise incorporate websites, products or services offered by third parties not owned or controlled by Company or User Sites, as applicable (“Third Party Services”). When you access Third Party Services, you do so at your own risk and should make whatever investigation you feel necessary or appropriate before using such Third Party Service or conducting any transactions thereon. You hereby represent and warrant that you have read and agree to be bound by all applicable policies of any Third Party Services relating to your use of the Services (“Third Party Policies”) and that you will act in accordance with those policies, in addition to your obligations under this Agreement. To the extent there is a conflict between any term in the Third Party Policies and this Agreement, the term in the Third Party Policies shall take precedence. Company has no control over, and assumes no responsibility for, the content, services, accuracy, privacy policies, or practices of or opinions expressed in any Third Party Services. In addition, Company will not and cannot monitor, verify, censor or edit the content of any Third Party Services. Company may modify or discontinue your use of, or access to, the Third Party Services, or any content or services available thereunder, at any time in its sole absolute discretion with or without notice to you. By using the Services, you expressly relieve and hold harmless Company from any and all liability arising from your use of any Third Party Services, including without limitation any damages or losses incurred as a result of any transactions thereon.

4. RESTRICTIONS

You warrant, represent and agree that you will not contribute any Content or otherwise use the Services in a manner that:

(i) infringes or violates the intellectual property rights or proprietary rights, rights of publicity or privacy, or other rights of any third party;

(ii) violates any law, statute, ordinance or regulation;

(iii) is harmful, fraudulent, deceptive, threatening, abusive, harassing, tortious, defamatory, vulgar, obscene, libelous, or otherwise objectionable;

(iv) involves commercial activities and/or sales without Company's prior written consent such as contests, sweepstakes, barter, advertising, or pyramid schemes;

(v) impersonates any person or entity, including without limitation any employee or representative of Company;

(vi) contains a virus, trojan horse, worm, time bomb, or other harmful computer code, file, or program; or

(vii) contains anything that, in the sole determination of Company, is objectionable or inhibits any other person from using or enjoying the Services, or which may expose Company or users of the Services to any harm or liability of any kind.

Company reserves the right to remove any Content from the Services at any time, for any reason (including, but not limited to, upon receipt of claims or allegations from third parties or authorities relating to such Content or if Company is concerned that you may have breached the immediately preceding sentence), or for no reason at all. You, not Company, remain solely responsible for all Content that you upload, post, email, transmit, or otherwise disseminate using, or in connection with, the Services, and you warrant that you possess all rights necessary to provide such content to Company and to grant Company the rights to use such information in connection with the Services and as otherwise provided herein.

You are responsible for all of your activity in connection with the Services. Any fraudulent, abusive, or otherwise illegal activity may be grounds for termination of your right to access or use the Services. You may not post or transmit, or cause to be posted or transmitted, any communication or solicitation designed or intended to obtain password, account, or private information from any other user of the Services. Use of the Services to violate the security of any computer network, crack passwords or security encryption codes, transfer or store illegal material (including material that may be considered threatening or obscene), or engage in any kind of illegal activity is expressly prohibited. You will not run Maillist, Listserv, any form of auto-responder, or “spam” on the Services, or any processes that run or are activated while you are not logged on to the Website, or that otherwise interfere with the proper working of or place an unreasonable load on the Services' infrastructure. Further, the use of manual or automated software, devices, or other processes to “crawl,” “scrape,” or “spider” any page of the Website is strictly prohibited. You will not decompile, reverse engineer, or otherwise attempt to obtain the source code of the Services. You will be responsible for withholding, filing, and reporting all taxes, duties and other governmental assessments associated with your activity in connection with the Services.

5. WARRANTY DISCLAIMER

Company has no special relationship with or fiduciary duty to you. You acknowledge that Company has no control over, and no duty to take any action regarding: which users gain access to the Services; what Content you access via the Services; what effects the Content may have on you; how you may interpret or use the Content; or what actions you may take as a result of having been exposed to the Content. You release Company from all liability for you having acquired or not acquired Content through the Services. The Services may contain, or direct you to websites containing, information that some people may find offensive or inappropriate. Company makes no representations concerning any content contained in or accessed through the Services, and Company will not be responsible or liable for the accuracy, copyright compliance, legality or decency of material contained in or accessed through the Services. Company makes no representations or warranties regarding suggestions or recommendations of services or products offered or purchased through the Services. THE SERVICES, CONTENT, WEBSITE, PRODUCTS AND SERVICES OBTAINED THROUGH THE WEBSITE, AND ANY SOFTWARE ARE PROVIDED ON AN “AS IS” BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, NON-INFRINGEMENT, OR THAT USE OF THE SERVICES WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR-FREE.

6. PRIVACY POLICY

For information regarding Company's treatment of personally identifiable information, please review Company's current Privacy Policy, which is hereby incorporated by reference; your acceptance of this Agreement constitutes your acceptance and agreement to be bound by our Privacy Policy.

7. ACCOUNT REGISTRATION AND SECURITY

As a condition to using certain Services, you may be required to register with the applicable Service and select a password and user name (“User ID”). You shall provide Company with accurate, complete, and updated registration information. Failure to do so shall constitute a breach of this Agreement, which may result in immediate termination of your account. You may not (i) select or use as a User ID a name of another person with the intent to impersonate that person; or (ii) use as a User ID a name subject to any rights of a person other than you without appropriate authorization. Company reserves the right to refuse registration of or cancel a User ID in its discretion.

You are entirely responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your password and account. Furthermore, you are solely responsible for any and all activities that occur under your account. You agree to immediately notify Company of any unauthorized use of your account or any other breach of security. Company will not be liable for any loss that you may incur as a result of someone else using your account or password, either with or without your knowledge. However, you may be held liable for losses incurred by Company or a third party due to someone else using your account or password. You may not use any account that is registered to another person at any time without the permission of the account holder and Company.

8. INDEMNITY

You will indemnify and hold Company, its parents, subsidiaries, affiliates, officers, suppliers, licensors, and employees harmless (including, without limitation, from all damages, liabilities, settlements, costs and attorneys' fees) from any claim or demand made by any third party due to or arising out of your access to the Services, use of the Services, your violation of this Agreement, or the infringement by you or any third party using any intellectual property or other right of any person or entity.

9. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY

IN NO EVENT SHALL COMPANY OR ITS SUPPLIERS, OR THEIR RESPECTIVE OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, OR AGENTS BE LIABLE WITH RESPECT TO THE WEBSITE OR THE SERVICES OR THE SUBJECT MATTER OF THIS AGREEMENT UNDER ANY CONTRACT, NEGLIGENCE, TORT, STRICT LIABILITY OR OTHER LEGAL OR EQUITABLE THEORY (I) FOR ANY AMOUNT IN THE AGGREGATE IN EXCESS OF THE GREATER OF $100 OR THE FEES PAID BY YOU THEREFOR DURING THE 12-MONTH PERIOD PRECEDING THE APPLICABLE CLAIM; (II) FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, PUNITIVE, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OF ANY KIND WHATSOEVER; (III) FOR DATA LOSS OR COST OF PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES; OR (IV) FOR ANY MATTER BEYOND COMPANY'S REASONABLE CONTROL. Because some jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion of or limitations on implied warranties or the limitations on the applicable statutory rights of a consumer, some or all of the above exclusions and limitations may not apply to you.

If you are a California resident, you waive California Civil Code Section 1542, which says: “A general release does not extend to claims that the creditor or releasing party does not know or suspect to exist in his or her favor at the time of executing the release, and that, if known by him or her, would have materially affected his or her settlement with the debtor or released party.”

10. DISPUTES BETWEEN USERS

If you have a dispute with one or more Users of the Services or any Third Party Services, you agree that Company is under no obligation to become involved and you hereby release Company, its officers, employees, agents, affiliates, representatives and successors from claims, demands and damages (actual, direct and consequential) of every kind or nature, known or unknown, suspected or unsuspected, disclosed or undisclosed, foreseeable or unforeseeable, arising out of or in any way related to such disputes.

11. TERMINATION

This Agreement shall remain in full force and effect while you use the Services. You may terminate your use of the Services at any time. Company may terminate or suspend your access to the Services at any time, for any reason, and without warning. Company may also terminate or suspend any and all Services and access to the Website immediately, without prior notice or liability, if you breach any of the terms or conditions of this Agreement. All provisions of this Agreement which, by their nature, should survive termination, shall survive termination, including, without limitation, those relating to ownership provisions, warranty disclaimers, and limitations of liability.

12. MISCELLANEOUS

The failure of either party to exercise, in any respect, any right provided for herein shall not be deemed a waiver of any further rights hereunder. Company shall not be liable for any failure to perform its obligations hereunder where such failure results from any cause beyond Company's reasonable control, including, without limitation, mechanical, electronic or communications failure or degradation (including “line-noise” interference). If any provision of this Agreement is found to be unenforceable or invalid, that provision shall be limited or eliminated to the minimum extent necessary so that this Agreement shall otherwise remain in full force and effect and enforceable. This Agreement is not assignable, transferable or sublicensable by you except with Company's prior written consent. Company may transfer, assign or delegate this Agreement and its rights and obligations without consent. Both parties agree that this Agreement is the complete and exclusive statement of the mutual understanding of the parties and supersedes and cancels all previous written and oral agreements, communications and other understandings relating to the subject matter of this Agreement (provided that if a separate written agreement with respect to Company products or services exists between you and Company, the terms and conditions of that written agreement shall take precedence over this Agreement in the event of any conflict), and that all modifications must be in a writing signed by both parties, except as otherwise provided herein. No agency, partnership, joint venture, or employment is created as a result of this Agreement and you do not have any authority of any kind to bind Company in any respect whatsoever. Headings for each section have been included above for your convenience, but such headings do not have any legal meaning, and may not accurately reflect the content of the provisions they precede.

13. ARBITRATION; GOVERNING LAW

This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of California without regard to the conflict of laws provisions thereof. Any dispute arising from or relating to the subject matter of this Agreement shall be finally settled by arbitration in Los Angeles County, CA, using the English language in accordance with the Streamlined Arbitration Rules and Procedures of Judicial Arbitration and Mediation Services, Inc. (“JAMS”) then in effect, by one commercial arbitrator with substantial experience in resolving intellectual property and commercial contract disputes, who shall be selected from the appropriate list of JAMS arbitrators in accordance with the Streamlined Arbitration Rules and Procedures of JAMS. Judgment upon the award so rendered may be entered in a court having jurisdiction, or application may be made to such court for judicial acceptance of any award and an order of enforcement, as the case may be. Notwithstanding the foregoing, each party shall have the right to institute an action in a court of proper jurisdiction for injunctive or other equitable relief pending a final decision by the arbitrator. For all purposes of this Agreement, the parties consent to exclusive jurisdiction and venue in the United States Federal Courts located in Los Angeles County, California, U.S.A

Any arbitration under this Agreement will take place on an individual basis; class arbitrations and class actions are not permitted. Neither you nor Company shall be entitled to join or consolidate disputes by or against other individuals or entities, or to arbitrate any dispute in a representative capacity, including, without limitation, as a representative member of a class or in a private attorney general capacity, in connection with any dispute. Further, unless both you and the company agree, the arbitrator may not consolidate more than one person's claim. The arbitrator may award any individual relief or individual remedies that are permitted by applicable law, but to the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, may not award relief against Company respecting any person other than you.

The binding individual arbitration provisions in this Section will not apply to the extent prohibited by the laws of your country of residence. For any disputes not subject to binding individual arbitration, you and Company agree to submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the state and federal courts in Los Angeles County, California, U.S.A. and to waive any jurisdictional, venue, or inconvenient forum objections to such courts (but without affecting either party's rights to remove a case to federal court if permissible). This paragraph will be interpreted as broadly as applicable law permits. For example, if you are a resident of a European Union member state, you will benefit from any mandatory provisions of consumer protection law in the member state in which you are resident, and you can bring legal proceedings in relation to this Agreement in the courts of the member state in which you are resident. Company has the right to prosecute civil claims against you for any violation of these Terms of Use, our Privacy Policy, our Cookie Policy, or any other governing terms and conditions related to its software and services, whether for breach of contract, violation of common law rights, or violation of any applicable state or federal statute. Any violation by you of such governing terms shall constitute an affirmative defense (whether characterized as arising at law or in equity) against any claim you might assert against Company in connection with the Services.

14. COPYRIGHT DISPUTE POLICY

Company has adopted the following general policy toward copyright infringement in accordance with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act or DMCA (posted at https://www.copyright.gov/legislation/pl105-304.pdf). The address of Company's Designated Agent to Receive Notification of Claimed Infringement (“Designated Agent”) is listed at the end of this Section. It is Company's policy to remove or disable access to material that it believes in good faith to be copyrighted material.

Procedure for Reporting Copyright Infringements:

If you believe that material or content residing on or accessible through the Services infringes a copyright, please send a notice of copyright infringement containing the following information to the Designated Agent listed below: 1. A physical or electronic signature of a person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of the copyright that has been allegedly infringed; 2. Identification of works or materials being infringed; 3. Identification of the material that is claimed to be infringing including information regarding the location of the infringing materials that the copyright owner seeks to have removed, with sufficient detail so that Company is capable of finding and verifying its existence; 4. Contact information about the notifier including address, telephone number and, if available, email address; 5. A statement that the notifier has a good faith belief that the material identified in (3) is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law; and 6. A statement made under penalty of perjury that the information provided is accurate and the notifying party is authorized to make the complaint on behalf of the copyright owner.

Please contact Company's Designated Agent to Receive Notification of Claimed Infringement at the following address: NetEase Interactive Entertainment Pte. Ltd., 11400 West Olympic Blvd. Suite 200, Los Angeles, California 90064, USA, Attn: Copyright Agent / Legal Department, or copyright.glo@list.nie.netease.com.

Effective: September 26, 2022

COOKIE POLICY FOR NETEASE SERVICES

We at NetEase Interactive Entertainment Pte. Ltd. and our affiliates and subsidiaries (collectively, the “Company,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) believe in being transparent about how we collect and use data. This policy provides information about how and when we use cookies and other similar technologies for these purposes. Capitalized terms used in this policy but not defined have the meaning set forth in our Privacy Policy, which also includes additional details about how we collect and use information.

Visiting or using our Website or Services with your browser settings adjusted to accept cookies tells us that you consent to our use of cookies and other technologies to provide you with the Services. If you do not accept the use of these cookies, please disable them using the instructions provided below.

WHAT ARE COOKIES?

“Cookies” are text files transferred to your device when you visit a website. Cookies are then sent back to the originating website on each subsequent visit, or to another website that recognizes that cookie. Cookies are widely used to make websites work more efficiently, recognize your browser or device, improve your user experience, customize features and advertising, and provide reporting information about the Services.

You can configure your desktop or mobile browser's settings to reflect your preference to accept or reject cookies, including how to handle third-party cookies (see How Can I Manage Cookies? below).

You can find out more information about cookies at http://www.allaboutcookies.org and http://www.youronlinechoices.eu.

In addition to cookies, there are other similar technologies used by us and elsewhere on the web or in mobile sites or applications. Web beacons, browser storage and plugins and other technologies often work in conjunction with cookies, and may store small amounts of data on your device.

HOW DO WE USE COOKIES?

The Services offered by the Company may use cookies and other technologies that work in conjunction with cookies (such as SDKs, pixels, tags, or web beacons) to collect and store the Information we automatically collect about our users' device and use of the Services. Cookies may be served directly by us to your device (a first party cookie) or may be served by one of our service providers on our behalf (a third party cookie). Cookies can be used to recognize you when you visit our Services, remember your preferences, and give you a more personalized experience. Cookies can also make your interactions with the Services faster and more secure.

While specific types of cookies and technologies may change from time to time as we improve and update the Services, cookies used by the Services generally fall into the categories below:

  • Security and Authentication (Strictly Necessary Cookies): These cookies are essential to provide you with the Services and to use some of its features, such as access to secure areas. Without these cookies, we can't provide parts of the Services that you request, like secure login accounts and transactional pages.

  • Performance & Functionality Cookies: We use performance cookies to analyze how the Services are being accessed and used, or how the Services are performing in order to maintain, operate and continually improve the Services and provide a better overall user experience. Functionality cookies record information about choices you've made and allow us to customize the Services to you. When you continue to use or return to the Services, we can remember choices you make (such as login credentials, language preference, country location or other online settings) and provide the personalized or enhanced features that you select. We also employ Google Analytics to help understand how the Service is used.

  • Social Networks: Some technologies help you to interact with social networks you are signed into while using the Services, such as sharing content with the social network, logging in with the social network, and other features you employ with the social network, or that are allowed in the social network's privacy policy. These may be set and controlled by the social networks, and your preferences with those social networks. You can manage your privacy preferences for these social networks and their tools and widgets via your account with the social network.

  • Advertising or Targeting Cookies: These cookies allow us and third parties to gather information about the content you're browsing, your visit, or your interaction with ads and our communications, and to display ads that are relevant to you and measure their effectiveness. Certain third party cookies may also track your activity across various sites to display ads relevant to you and your interests on third party sites and applications. Most advertising or targeting cookies set by the Services belong to our service providers.

WHAT THIRD PARTY COOKIES DO WE USE?

Our cookie table lists some of the third party cookies on our Services. Please note that the names of cookies, pixels and other technologies may change over time.

Cookie Name

Use

Internal or External

Google Analytics

These are Google cookies. We use these to track user behavior (e.g. click events, page views, and location information) to learn how users use our site.

External

HOW CAN I MANAGE COOKIES?

You can choose whether or not to accept cookies and other technologies, as explained below. However, you should be aware that disabling cookies may prevent you from enjoying the full functionality of the Services.

Most browsers allow you to change your cookie settings. The “Options” or “Preferences” menu of most browsers detail how to prevent your browser from accepting new cookies, how to have the browser notify you when you receive a new cookie and how to disable cookies altogether. Your browser's settings may also allow you to disable or delete similar technologies and data used by browser add-ons (such as Flash cookies), for instance by changing the add-on's settings or clearing browser storage. Browser manufacturers provide help pages relating to cookie management in their products. Please see below for more information:

For other browsers, please consult the documentation that your browser manufacturer provides.

If you only want to limit third party advertising cookies, you can turn off most of these cookies by visiting the following links (but be aware that not all of the companies listed on these sites drop cookies via our Services):

You can opt out of interest-based targeting provided by participating ad services through the Digital Advertising Alliance's YourAdChoices. In addition, on your iPhone, iPad or Android, you can change your device settings to control whether you see online interest-based ads.

For Google Analytics, you can opt-out through Google Ads Settings, Ad Settings for mobile apps, or any other available means (e.g. the NAI's consumer opt-out listed above). Google also provides a Google Analytics opt-out plug-in for the web.

Please note that even if you opt-out and limit cookies or these third party tracking technologies, they may still collect data and you may still see ads, but they will not be targeted based on information collected through these technologies.

WHAT IS DO NOT TRACK?

Do Not Track is a privacy preference that users can set in their web browsers. When a user turns on the Do Not Track signal, the browser sends a message to websites requesting them not to track the user. At this time, we do not respond to Web browser “do not track” settings or signals. As described in this Cookie Policy, we deploy cookies and other technologies on our Service to collect information about you and your browsing activity, even if you have turned on the Do Not Track signal.

CHANGES TO THIS COOKIE POLICY

If you have disabled one or more cookies, we may still use information collected from cookies prior to your disabled preference being set, however, we will stop using the disabled cookie to collect any further information.

We may amend this Cookie Policy from time to time. Use of Information we collect now is subject to the Cookie Policy in effect at the time such Information is used. If we make material changes in the way we collect, use, and/or share information held in cookies, we will notify you by posting an announcement through the applicable Services. We encourage you to regularly review this page for any updates to our Cookie Policy as well as our Privacy Policy.

QUESTIONS OR CONCERNS

If you have any questions or concerns regarding our Cookie Policy, please send us a detailed message at the address below, and we will try to resolve your concerns.

NetEase Interactive Entertainment Pte. Ltd.
11400 West Olympic Blvd. Suite 200

Los Angeles, California 90064

USA
Attn: Privacy / Legal Department

Email: privacy.glo@list.nie.netease.com

Effective: September 26, 2022