Marvel Rivals Publisher Comments on Layoffs

Posted by By our-little-miss-is-home February 19, 2025 5 Views 7 Min Read
Marvel Rivals Publisher Comments on Layoffs
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Summary

  • NetEase Games has confirmed that the Seattle-based development team for Marvel Rivals has been let go
  • It’s unclear how many staff members were laid off.
  • Marvel Rivals has been a massive success, gaining over 10 million players in its first three days.

Marvel Rivals publisher NetEase has addressed the recent layoffs that hit one of the game’s development teams and offered additional insight into the situation. Marvel Rivals has been a big hit so far, managing to gain over 10 million players just a few days after it launched in full on December 6, 2024 and showing little sign of slowing down. Earlier this week, Marvel Rivals confirmed that The Thing and the Human Torch will finally be added to the game’s roster on February 21, and also gave players their first look at Blade.

Not all recent Marvel Rivals news has been great, however. Earlier this week, Marvel Rivals game director Thaddeus Sasser announced that his US-based team had been laid off, the latest in a series of massive job terminations in the gaming industry over the past few years. The news came as a shock to many fans considering Marvel Rivals’ near-overnight success, with players left wondering how these layoffs will affect future game content.

Marvel Rivals player creates partially functioning Doctor Octopus

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NetEase recently released a statement regarding the Marvel Rivals layoffs to PC Gamer, confirming that the game’s Seattle-based development team has indeed been let go. The publisher described the decision as a difficult one that was made to “optimize development efficiency.” NetEase acknowledged the hard work of its Marvel Rivals Seattle development team, which served as a support unit for the game’s core development branch in China. The publisher didn’t reveal exactly how many staffers were let go, but confirmed that there are no more Seattle-based developers actively working on Marvel Rivals.

NetEase Speaks Out About Marvel Rivals Layoffs

Marvel Rivals’ core Chinese development team hasn’t been affected by the recent layoffs, and NetEase reiterated that it is still committed to continuing its support for Marvel Rivals by adding even more playable characters, maps, and other content with each new season. As stated before, Blade is set to arrive in Marvel Rivals at some point, and a new Central Park map will be added alongside The Thing and Human Torch on February 21.

This is all bittersweet news for fans of Marvel Rivals, as not even the highly successful and well-received multiplayer hero shooter is immune to the growing trend of video game layoffs that has cast a shadow on the industry over the past few years. Plenty of other companies have cut staff throughout February, including Bandai Namco, Rumbleverse developer Iron Galaxy, Smite publisher Hi-Rez Studios, Crysis studio Crytek, and most recently Liquid Swords.

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