The next significant update for Marvel Rivals is scheduled for February 21st, however three days prior to the release of that material, NetEase fired every member of the game’s development staff.
Several developers from a NetEase Games studio made abrupt layoff announcements throughout the day on February 18. Veteran expertise in the business and a staff that specialized in creating game and level designs for Marvel Rivals are directly impacted by this news.
An explanation of NetEase Marvel Rivlas layoffs
Despite Marvel Rivals’ continued popularity on all platforms as a free-to-play game, NetEase is laying off a significant portion of the game’s development staff. In particular, a Seattle, Washington-based team that worked on level and game design.
Veteran game developer Thaddeus Sasser, who directed the game for Marvel Rivals, claimed that his entire team was affected by abrupt layoffs on February 18. Although he spent his time praising his coworkers who were impacted by the decision, it is unknown if the former creative director of Amazon and Electronic Arts was also harmed by these layoffs.
According to Sasser, his team has been working on basic game design, mechanics, levels, and other aspects of the larger Marvel Rivals project since he joined NetEase Games in January 2023.
Following a protracted period of initial success during which over 10 million players downloaded the game, these layoffs have occurred. Despite being on the market for two months, the live service game continues to attract over 300,000 concurrent players every day on Steam and is frequently discussed on social media and content sites.
It still maintains a significant lead over all other shooter games, including competitors like Apex Legends and Overwatch 2, aside from Counter-Strike 2.
Thirty-three percent of AAA game developers surveyed by the Game Developer Conference are working on a live service game. Additionally, NetEase Games has fired the Seattle team despite having contributed to the creation of a worldwide success in what is perhaps the most competitive game industry.
No matter how successful the employment was, Jack Burrows, a former level designer for Marvel Rivals, once said: “I guess I just couldn’t avoid that big boot.”
According to a community-run database, over 14,600 jobs were cut in the games business in 2024, and since 2022, the number has surpassed 34,000. Across Worlds Untold, SkyBox Labs, Ouka Studios, and NetEase Spark Studio, NetEase was impacted multiple times.
Daniel Ahmad, director of research and insights at Niko Partners, claims that this change solely affects the Seattle-based team and has no effect on the main Marvel Rivals development studio, which is headquartered in China. Given that NetEase withdrew funds from the aforementioned studios and other initiatives, he said this is “part of a broader reconsideration of NetEase’s overseas investments and studios.”
What Effects Will the Layoffs Have on the Game, Marvel Rivals?
There are concerns that Marvel Rivals, which continues to deliver new material every month, may be impacted because the affected team is directly involved in the game. This is particularly true given that there are currently two new heroes and one new map added each season.
As of right now, it doesn’t seem that Marvel Rivals will face any immediate repercussions. Despite how negatively this may affect NetEase, Ahmad claims that this move will not affect the game in any way and that the “current roadmap is still the plan.”
“Last year, NetEase began its reevaluation, which resulted in the withdrawal of funds and the closure of studios in the US and Japan. The continuous reevaluation is being conducted for a number of reasons, Ahmad stated. “Regardless of the reason or the size of the team, it is not a good impression for NetEase to fire a successful team. Studios where you could argue that present performance or lack of results was the problem were among those that had previously been laid off or closed. The same argument cannot be made here.
The creation of Marvel Rivals has always been promoted as a hybrid project involving teams in the US and China, with Guangyun Chen and Sasser acting as dual game directors for their respective branches, according to journalist Patrick Dane. Dane claims that this development decision reads like “the US side being slopped off” and raises more issues regarding the enigmatic handling of the popular game, but no specific justification was provided.
To put it briefly, internal plans for possible cuts began in 2023 and go beyond specific projects. However, since these layoffs weren’t unexpected, they shouldn’t have an effect on Marvel Rivals’ future.
It is unlikely that the layoffs will have a lasting effect on the growth of the game’s esports ecosystem, given the information above. NetEase recently revealed aspirations to expand high-level tournaments, although in areas where the publisher lacks an internal esports operations staff, this can be accomplished through third parties.