NetEase Games Shocks Gaming World: Entire Marvel Rivals Seattle Team Axed Despite 20 Million Players!

The Chinese game developer and publisher NetEase Games has laid off the entire Marvel Rivals development team based in Seattle, United States. A NetEase representative made a statement to PCGamer, confirming the news. While there was no comment on the number of people laid off, it was confirmed that there are no developers working on Marvel Rivals in Seattle.

“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," said the NetEase Representative.

Marvel Rivals game director laid off by NetEase Games

Marvel Rivals has seen massive success with 20 million players joining the game since its launch. Despite this, the former NetEase game director Thaddeus Sasse who delivered the game was laid off along with his team. He shared his experience on his LinkedIn stating the following:

“This is such a weird industry… My stellar, talented team just helped deliver an incredibly successful new franchise in Marvel Rivals for NetEase Games... ...and were just laid off!”

Former level designer for Marvel Rivals, Jack Burrows also shared his experience of being laid off in a post saying, "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."

Here's the post from the ex-Marvel Rivals director

Why did NetEase layoff the Marvel Rivals team in Seattle?

While the official statement from NetEase reasons it ‘to optimize development efficiency for the game’, some speculate it was a part of their plan from the beginning. NetEase is known to work on new franchises with talents across the globe and after its launch or success, they cut the team down to the core members. NetEase has been laying off members from the US in recent times, most significant of which is the layoff at Ouka Studios, the developer of Visions of Mana. Despite this, laying off the design team of such a successful game like Marvel Rivals so early in it's launch was surprising to say the least.

Also read: Sentinels and Virtus.pro joins Marvel Rivals esports: Rosters, upcoming tournaments, and more

Whats next for Marvel Rivals?

The NetEase representative assured the community stating that the core development team in China is intact and "remains fully committed to delivering an exceptional experience, investing more, not less, into the evolution and growth of this game. We’re excited to deliver new super hero characters, maps, features, and content to ensure an engaging live service experience for our worldwide player base."

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