The Internet Reacts To Shocking Marvel Rivals Layoffs

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On February 18, NetEase laid off Marvel Rivals development team members, including game director Thaddeus Sasser, just two months after its incredibly successful launch. The hero shooter has been such a runaway success that the news blindsided people across the video game industry. According to a statement the company issued to Game File, NetEase made these cuts “for organizational reasons and to optimize development efficiency for the game.” The layoffs specifically affected the support team based in Seattle while the “core” Guangzhou-based team “remains fully committed to delivering an exceptional experience.”

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“We are investing more, not less, into the evolution and growth of this game,” the statement reads. “We’re excited to deliver new super hero characters, maps, features, and content to ensure an engaging live service experience for our worldwide player base.”

NetEase can say Marvel Rivals will be fine with these cuts, but the industry is still reeling from the layoffs, especially given how well the shooter has done in a volatile live-service market. The free-to-play game accumulated over 20 million players in its first month, and is estimated to have brought in over $136 million in revenue in that time. Several industry members and pundits have expressed disbelief at how a game could be doing so well while the employment of the people who helped make it a success remains so precarious.

A Bluesky posts reads "When the layoffs first started there are people going "just make good games". It's not about that. It has never been about that. Hifi rush, now marvel rivals. It's about corporate greed, C suits pay and line go up at the cost of studios and livelihoods. It's unhealthy. It's unsustainable"

A Bluesky post reads "The state of the games industry and job hunting when I see even Marvel Rivals isn't immune to layoffs has got me thinkin' about this classic again. I just wanna make rad stuff with cool people again, y'all."

A Bluesky post reads "the lesson here is do not under any circumstances make a corporation a good game. dont make them a bad game either. what should you make? well its not exactly clear"

A Bluesky post reads "Marvel Rivals is currently among the top 5 games in US weekly active users across PS5, XBS and Steam, according to Circana's Player Engagement Tracker. It has been a massive hit, and one of the few games that has been able to break through the live service wall. I dunno, folks. I just don't know."

A Bluesky post includes an image of a cow staring down a bisected path that leads to the same exit, with one side reading "New game is massively successful" and the other reading "New game bombs horribly" with the text "The illusion of free choice" over it.

One notable aspect of this situation is that NetEase, a China-based company, is broadly pulling out of overseas development. For example, in 2024, the company pulled its funding for Worlds Untold, a Vancouver-based studio led by ex-BioWare director Mac Walters, causing the studio to “pause” its operations. The Marvel Rivals layoffs may be part of a larger trend in NetEase’s business plans, but it’s still proof that even a runaway success isn’t enough to save you from the whims of a corporation.

A Bluesky post reads "Not a fan of people going "Marvel Rivals will be fine, those US people aren't that important to the game" when that's not the concern rn, the concern is that working in the Video Game Industry is hell because there's no job security anymore because of unnessarcy layoffs. Think of the goddamn people."

If NetEase is looking to untether itself from overseas development, it raises questions about the future of several companies under the corporation’s umbrella. NetEase’s overseas investments include studios like Bulletfarm, led by ex-Call of Duty developer David Vonderhaar, and Bad Brain Game Studios which is made up of ex-Ubisoft devs. The video game industry is in a state of unprecedented turnover right now, with thousands of people having lost their jobs in the past year. The teams behind successful games and flops alike are getting hit with layoffs, so what exactly is a developer to do?

Marvel Rivals is approaching its mid-season update on Friday, February 21, which will add the Human Torch and the Thing to the roster. The hero shooter may keep trucking along, but the game’s success story now has a cloud hanging over it just two months into its life.

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