"Fantasy Westward Journey delivered an outstanding performance highlight for the quarter with record peak concurrent users of 2.5 million on August 2, 2009, which is a clear testament to the ongoing popularity and longevity of this iconic game," stated William Ding, Chief Executive Officer and Director of NetEase.
The company reported earnings of 393.8 million yuan ($57.7 million) for the third quarter, or 3.02 yuan (44 cents) per American depositary share (ADS), up 26 percent compared to 313.3 million yuan ($45.9 million), or 2.42 yuan per ADS a year ago.
Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report earnings of $0.49 per ADS on revenue of $138.65 million for the quarter, but the estimates typically exclude special items.
Netease, founded in 1997 as a tiny search engine, lost its No.2 status in China's online game sector to up-and-comer Tencent in the last quarter.
"With an eventful game pipeline as well as new service introductions in email, blog and search, we are confident in maintaining our market-leading position in the Chinese MMORPG market and accelerating our position as a portal of choice for the dynamic and growing user community across China," CEO Ding said in a statement.