Interview: Jack Emmert On Jackalyptic's Name Change And Vision For Remote Work

mmorpg.com:

Jackalyptic Games opened last year as NetEase's first US-based studio. Fully remote and headed by MMO veteran Jack Emmert, we didn't know much about what it was working on until now. With yesterday's announcement that the studio's first game will be an MMO set in the Warhammer IP, we wanted to catch up with the developer to discuss why they changed the name, the studio's vision, and more.

MMORPG.com: Could you talk about the core reason for the rebranded studio name? What went into the decision and how did you go from Jackalope to Jackalyptic Games? 

Jack Emmert, Jackalyptic Games: Jackalope Games was a tad generic – there are plenty of Jackalope-inspired companies out there. We looked at a jackalope and said, well it’s a cryptid (a mysterious creature) – so let’s combine those two names! We ended up with Jackalypt, but one of our employees kept saying Jackalyptic – and that sounded much cooler!

MMORPG.com: Has, if at all, the rebrand changed the way the studio operates? 

JE: A: Nope. We’re still the same bunch of zany developers!

MMORPG..com: With the rebrand, how has the scope and vision of what the studio wants to accomplish changed? Can you speak a bit about that vision and where you see the studio going over the next few years?

JE: Right now, we’re 100% behind the game we’re working on. Everything else we’ll tackle as it comes. 

MMORPG.com: Jackalyptic is the first NetEase studio based out of the United States — how has it been to work with the company and what kind of freedom does it afford? 

JE: NetEase is totally committed to supporting game development. Every NetEase employee It’s been amazing to tap resources from a company who’s made some of the most successful games in China. There’s practically no problem that