The game director for Marvel Rivals has just reported that he and his entire team have been laid off from NetEase games, despite the game’s undeniable success. To put things in perspective, Marvel Rivals is currently in the top five most-played games across PlayStation, Xbox, and Steam, and it’s the number-one most played game on Steam. In an industry where live service games struggle to get any traction, much less maintain their growth, the news of the layoffs is surprising.
To clarify, NetEase laid off the Seattle-based team. No reason was given as to why they were laid off, nor do we know if other teams were affected. Some fans speculate the reason could be politically motivated, while others place the blame on corporate hubris.
What this news means for the future of the game — which the developers recently hinted could come to the Nintendo Switch 2 — isn’t clear. Game director Thaddeus Sasser shared his thoughts on LinkedIn, opening the post with “This is such a weird industry.” Jack Burrows, one of the level designers, said “Just couldn’t dodge that big boot I guess, no matter how big the success of the gig.”
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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.
— Mat Piscatella (@matpiscatella.bsky.social) 2025-02-18T19:26:12.575Z
The Marvel-inspired hero shooter is estimated to have earned over $130 million in its first month alone. Its popularity shows no signs of slowing down, with two new characters and a new map expected within the next two weeks. Ostensibly, those targets will still be met, but there are a lot of unknowns at the moment. If that pace continues, the game could generate more than $1 billion in revenue in its first year.
Tech Reader has reached out to NetEase for comment and will update this story when we get a response.
