While numerous live service games such as,orpartly failed, it went forExactly the other direction: No second Gaas title has had such great success reports since the release of the multiplayer game in December 2024. Rivals is currently in 4th place of the most played games on Steam, with over 318,000 players in the top.
The recent reports from Tuesday evening therefore surprise all the more. Accordingly, Game Director Thaddeus Sasser and other employees of the Netease studio in Seattle were released. (viaVGC
Success apparently does not protect against layoffs
For understanding:Marvel Rivals is developed by Netease. Teams from China and Seattle (USA) are involved in the project. According to the current state of knowledge, the latest layoffs only affect the studio in Seattle, which specializes in the game and level design of the multiplayer title.
"This is such a crazy industry ...
My excellent, talented team has just helped develop an incredibly successful new franchise in Marvel Rivals for Netease Games ... and has just been released! Oh well! Times are hard everywhere - let's find new jobs for these incredible people, because we all have to eat, right? "
Thaddeus Sasser, former Game Director of Marvel Rivalsvia Linkedin
In addition to Sasser, the level designers Gary McGee and Jack Burrows had to leave the developer. How many people are specifically affected is still unclear. However, it is clear that even leading developers of an enormously successful live service game are not protected from layoffs.
If you want to learn more about the massive layoffs in the gaming industry, here along:
The background to the wave of discharge at Netease
We now know thanks to Game File reporterStephen Totiloand business insiderDaniel Ahmadalso the background that Netease have led to the wave of discharge.
Netease writes in a first statement to Totilo:
"We recently made the difficult decision to adapt the structure of the Marvel Rivals development team to increase the organizational efficiency of the game. This led to a reduction in the design team in Seattle, which is part of a larger global design function to support Marvel Rival . "
Comprehensive strategy:According to Ahmad, Marvel Rivals's core team is located in China. For the current layoffs he calls one "Comprehensive review of Netease's investments in overseas"As a reason.
Last year, the developer is said to have finished financing to a whole series of teams in the USA. The layoffs at the branch in Seattle thus fit into the developer's overarching strategy.
What's next with Marvel Rivals?According to Netease, you don't have to fear any cuts in the game - on the contrary. As sarcastically as it may sound in the course of the layoffs, Netease wants to further expand the game and invest more in the development. In concrete terms, more heroes, maps and features in the upcoming Seasons.
