Gardiner said that he chose NetEase as a backer in part because the company promised independence to Something Wicked Games. In fact, Gardiner said the company trusts his studio and has not put in place any development milestones in order to get the next tranche of money. The tough launch gave Gardiner his “best lessons of all” and it was ultimately about redemption as the company made the game viable. The company has been working for just a few months, with funding coming in April and hiring starting in June. Jeff Gardiner and other veterans from Bethesda Game Studios and Obsidian Entertainment have started Something Wicked Games to make an open world role-playing game.