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NetEase has laid off its US-based Marvel Rivals development team, despite the game’s recent release. Thaddeus Sasser, game director at NetEase, shared the news on LinkedIn, calling the decision unexpected. “This is such a weird industry,” Sasser wrote. “My stellar, talented team just helped deliver an incredibly successful new franchise in Marvel Rivals for NetEase Games…..and were just laid off!”. He added “Oh well! Times are tough all over – Let’s find these incredible people new jobs, because we all need to eat, right?,”.
Level designer Jack Burrows also confirmed the layoffs, saying he and his American colleagues were let go. He wrote “Welp, just got laid off from my job working on Marvel Rivals with NetEase”.
“Was an enormous pleasure to work with my American coworkers who join me in this sad culling. Just couldn’t dodge that big boot I guess, no matter how big the success of the gig,” Burrows stated.
Unclear reasons behind the layoffs
The decision has raised questions, especially since Marvel Rivals reportedly earned $136 million in its first month, according to Chinese gaming site GameLook.
In recent months, NetEase has been scaling back its US operations. In November 2024, it stopped funding Worlds Untold, a studio started in 2023 by BioWare veteran Mac Walters. In January this year, it shut down Jar of Sparks, a studio founded in 2022 by Halo and Destiny 2 developer Jerry Hook.
Back in August 2024, reports said NetEase also laid off most of the team at Ouka Studios, the developer of Visions of Mana, before the game even launched. While the main development team is based in China, cutting jobs so soon after launch has left many wondering about NetEase’s long-term plans for the game.
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