Despite the incredibly successful launch of Marvel Rivals, NetEase has laid off the game’s entire US-based development team, according to game director Thaddeus Sasser. In a LinkedIn post, Sasser expressed frustration over the decision, calling it “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!” Sasser wrote. “Times are tough all over – let’s find these incredible people new jobs, because we all need to eat, right?”
The layoffs appear to have affected the entire US team working on the game. Former level designer Garry McGee confirmed in his own post, stating, “My team recently helped develop and launch Marvel Rivals, which turned out to be a bigger hit than any of us expected! Unfortunately, my team was also laid off.”
Level designer Jack Burrows echoed the sentiment, adding that it “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.”
NetEase has yet to comment on the layoffs, and the full extent of job cuts within the company remains unclear. However, this isn’t the first time the Chinese publisher has made significant staffing reductions.
With Marvel Rivals proving to be a major hit, the layoffs come as a shock to both the industry and the affected developers. Fans will now be watching closely to see how NetEase handles the game’s future without its original US-based team.
