Surprising Layoffs Hit Marvel Rivals Development Team Amid Success

BEIJING, China — In a shocking turn of events, multiple key members from the development team behind the hit hero shooter, Marvel Rivals, have been laid off. The dismissals come as a surprise given the game’s strong performance on platforms like Steam, where it continues to thrive months after its successful launch.

Thaddeus Sasser, the game director, expressed his dismay in a social media post, stating, “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!” His remarks highlight the disconnection between a game’s success and the well-being of its creators.

Jack Burrows, a level designer for Marvel Rivals, shared a similar sentiment on a job-hunting website. He documented his job loss, writing, “Welp, just got laid off from my job working on Marvel Rivals with NetEase. It was an enormous pleasure to work with my American coworkers who join me in this sad culling.” The layoffs have raised questions about the future of the team and the game itself.

The size and the location of the teams involved in the game’s development remain unclear. While a significant portion of the team works in China, some developers in North America, like Garry McGee, have also been impacted. As of this report, NetEase has not provided any comments regarding the layoffs.

Marvel Rivals recently introduced its first major mid-season content update, which has contributed to its ongoing popularity. In a year that has seen several online multiplayer games falter, NetEase’s free-to-play title has managed to maintain a prominent position, ranking high on both PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S platforms, and holding the top spot on Steam.

Del Walker, a veteran game artist, voiced his confusion about the situation, stating, “You make one of the most successful LIVE service titles of the generation, despite the world telling you LIVE service is dead – and still get laid off? What are we even doing at this point?”

Marvel Rivals is set to launch its second season in early April, leaving fans eager to see how the recent changes will impact the game’s development trajectory.