Marvel Rivals Director and Entire Seattle Design Team Laid Off, NetEase Tells Fans Not to Worry About the Game

NetEase, the developer behind the wildly popular game Marvel Rivals, has recently announced layoffs within its Seattle-based design team, citing "organizational reasons." This unexpected news came to light when Marvel Rivals game director Thaddeus Sasser shared on LinkedIn that he and his team had been let go.

In his LinkedIn post, Sasser expressed the surreal nature of the industry, highlighting the contradiction of being laid off after contributing to the successful launch of Marvel Rivals. He praised his team's stellar talent and urged the gaming community to help find them new employment opportunities. "Times are tough all over - Let's find these incredible people new jobs, because we all need to eat, right? :D" he added, maintaining a positive outlook despite the circumstances.

The gaming community responded with a mixture of shock and frustration, given the game's phenomenal performance. Marvel Rivals, a free-to-play hero shooter, has amassed over 20 million downloads since its December launch and achieved impressive peak concurrent player numbers on Steam.

Sasser's LinkedIn profile indicates that his team was instrumental in game and level design for Marvel Rivals, providing crucial guidance and strategy over the past few years. NetEase confirmed the layoffs to IGN, though they did not disclose the number of affected employees. The company stated, "We recently made the difficult decision to adjust Marvel Rivals’ development team structure for organizational reasons and to optimize development efficiency for the game. This resulted in a reduction of a design team based in Seattle that is part of a larger global design function in support of Marvel Rivals."

NetEase emphasized its commitment to treating those affected with confidentiality and respect, acknowledging their valuable contributions. However, they assured fans that the layoffs would not affect the ongoing development and support of Marvel Rivals. The game's primary development team, led by Lead Producer Weicong Wu and Game Creative Director Guangyun Chen in Guangzhou, China, remains fully dedicated to enhancing the player experience.

"We want to reassure our fanbase that the core development team for Marvel Rivals... remains fully committed to delivering an exceptional experience," NetEase stated. They further emphasized their intention to invest more into the game, promising new superhero characters, maps, features, and content to maintain an engaging live service experience for players worldwide.

This latest round of layoffs at NetEase follows a pattern of the company pulling back from overseas investments and closing studios in the U.S. and Japan. Notable examples include the closure of Visions of Mana developer Ouka Studios, the pause of operations at Worlds Untold led by Mass Effect alumnus Mac Walters, and the closure of Jar of Sparks, founded by Halo and Destiny 2 veteran Jerry Hook.