Marvel Rivals Director, Seattle Team Laid Off; NetEase Assures Game's Future

NetEase, the developer behind the hit game Marvel Rivals, has recently announced layoffs within its Seattle-based design team due to "organizational reasons." Game Director Thaddeus Sasser shared the news on LinkedIn, expressing his surprise and disappointment at the decision despite the team's successful launch of Marvel Rivals.

"This is such a weird industry," Sasser remarked. "My stellar, talented team just helped deliver an incredibly successful new franchise in Marvel Rivals for NetEase Games... and were just laid off! Oh well! Times are tough all over - Let's find these incredible people new jobs, because we all need to eat, right? :D"

The gaming community responded with a mixture of shock and frustration, especially given the game's remarkable performance. Since its launch in December, Marvel Rivals, a free-to-play hero shooter, has garnered over 20 million downloads and achieved significant concurrent player numbers on Steam.

Sasser’s LinkedIn profile highlights that his team was instrumental in game and level design, providing "guidance, strategy, and design direction over the last couple of years."

NetEase confirmed the layoffs to IGN but did not disclose the number of affected employees. In their statement, NetEase explained, "We recently made the difficult decision to adjust Marvel Rivals’ development team structure for organizational reasons and to optimize development efficiency for the game. This resulted in a reduction of a design team based in Seattle that is part of a larger global design function in support of Marvel Rivals. We appreciate the hard work and dedication of those affected and will be treating them confidentially and respectfully with recognition for their individual contributions."

Despite the layoffs, NetEase emphasized that the ongoing support for Marvel Rivals would remain unaffected. The primary development team, led by Lead Producer Weicong Wu and Game Creative Director Guangyun Chen, is based in Guangzhou, China, and remains fully committed to the game's success.

"We want to reassure our fanbase that the core development team for Marvel Rivals... remains fully committed to delivering an exceptional experience," NetEase stated. "We are investing more, not less, into the evolution and growth of this game. We’re excited to deliver new superhero characters, maps, features, and content to ensure an engaging live service experience for our worldwide player base."

This recent round of layoffs at NetEase is part of a broader trend of the company scaling back its overseas investments. It has previously closed studios in the U.S. and Japan, including Ouka Studios, the developer of Visions of Mana. In November, Worlds Untold, led by Mass Effect alum Mac Walters, paused operations following a split with NetEase. Additionally, in January, NetEase cut ties with Jar of Sparks, founded by Halo and Destiny 2 veteran Jerry Hook in 2022.