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

NetEase, developer of the successful mobile game Marvel Rivals, has confirmed layoffs within its Seattle-based design team. The cuts, attributed to “organizational reasons” by NetEase, were announced on LinkedIn by game director Thaddeus Sasser, who confirmed his own dismissal along with that of his team. This news comes as a surprise to many, given Marvel Rivals’ impressive performance since its December launch, boasting over 20 million downloads and significant concurrent player numbers on Steam.

Sasser’s LinkedIn profile highlights his team's contributions to the game's design and level design over the past two years. While NetEase's statement confirms the layoffs, the exact number of affected employees remains undisclosed. The company emphasizes that the restructuring aims to optimize development efficiency and that the layoffs will not affect ongoing support for Marvel Rivals. NetEase assures players that the core development team in Guangzhou, China, led by Producer Weicong Wu and Creative Director Guangyun Chen, remains fully committed to the game's future, promising new content including characters, maps, and features.

This latest round of layoffs follows a pattern of reduced overseas investment and studio closures by NetEase. Previous closures include Ouka Studios (developer of Visions of Mana) and the halting of operations for Worlds Untold (headed by Mass Effect veteran Mac Walters) and Jar of Sparks (founded by Halo and Destiny 2 veteran Jerry Hook).