- NetEase Games has laid off staff in one of its Seattle teams
- This included Marvel Rivals director Thaddeus Sasser
- The company claims that the cuts were made for “organizational reasons”
Last night, Marvel Rivals developer NetEase Games laid off an unspecified number of staff from its Seattle design team.
This included one of the game’s directors, Thaddeus Sasser, who posted about the layoffs on his LinkedIn page. “My stellar, talented team just helped deliver an incredibly successful new franchise,” he said.
“… and were just laid off!” He then explained his desire to help the affected staff find new jobs, spotlighting the contributions of former level designer Garry McGee.
The layoffs certainly seem unexpected, in no small part thanks to the apparent massive success of Marvel Rivals. It was rated highly in our review, with praise leveled at its impressive roster of varied heroes and overall fun factor. It’s been a mainstay of the Steam charts since it launched back on December 6, 2024.
NetEase has commented on the layoffs in a statement to PCGamer, claiming that they were made “to adjust Marvel Rivals’ development team structure for organizational reasons and to optimize development efficiency for the game.”
It also stated that the main development team, which is located in China, is still “fully committed to delivering an exceptional experience” with “new super hero characters, maps, features, and content” on the way.
NetEase also made cuts at its other western studios throughout last year. This included stopping funding for the recently-founded Worlds Untold studio, the closure of Jar of Sparks, and major layoffs at Visions of Mana developer Ouka Studios. This could suggest that the company is planning to shift its focus more heavily towards its Chinese developers.
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