Staff Layoffs Hit Marvel Rivals Studio NetEase Games
Despite quickly becoming a juggernaut in the free-to-play market, Marvel Rivals studio NetEase Games has laid off a number of staff who worked on the project.
Black Panther takes a knee for the developers who were let go.
Marvel Rivals took the gaming scene by storm when it launched back in December of last year. Joining an already highly saturated live service market, it nevertheless gained quick popularity. The Marvel IP was one of the reasons it found success, but as we’ve seen with previous releases (Notably Marvel’s Avengers), simply having a big franchise behind a game doesn’t guarantee success. The bigger draw is that Marvel Rivals fills the gap that the Overwatch franchise so kindly left vacant recently. Marvel Rivals is the Hero shooter.
However, its mainstream success hasn’t exactly prevented some staff from being laid off. Game Director Thaddeus Sasser first broke the news over on his LinkedIn page, saying, “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!” Sasser then went on to spotlight one of the staff members he was working with who was also affected, hoping to help land them a new role elsewhere.
Another affected staff member, Level Designer Jack Burrows, corroborated the news on his own post, adding, “Just couldn’t dodge that big boot I guess, no matter how big the success of the gig.”
Following this, NetEase Games has shed some additional light on the layoffs, confirming that the only team affected is the Seattle-based team in the US, citing “organizational reasons,” while the staff in China will continue to work on maintaining and updating the popular title.
After sharing their appreciation to the staff who were laid off, NetEase went on to reassure fans that the core team in China is focused on delivering an “exceptional experience,” and is investing more into the growth of the game, promising new heroes, maps, features, and content.
I spent some time with Marvel Heroes and enjoyed my time with it. What do you make of this news? Let us know in the comments down below.
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