Marvel Rivals is about to get its next major update on Feb. 21 but, just three days before that content goes live, NetEase has laid off an entire team working o

The Verge has reached out to NetEase for comment on the scope and reason for the layoffs.  One way players have reacted to the news by lodging complaints via user reviews on Steam, voicing their anger that NetEase would lay off the team responsible for a game so evidently popular.

On February 18, 2025, Marvel Rivals US Game Director Thaddeus Sasser announced on LinkedIn that he and his entire Seattle team had been suddenly let go. This news came as a shock to many, with the Game Director voicing his surprise over the decision.

Launching on Dec. 6, 2024, Marvel Rivals has surged in popularity, attracting millions of players worldwide and providing them with regular content updates—including the upcoming mid-season patch that introduces The Thing and Human Torch as new characters.

A Seattle-based team that contributed to development on the popular online action game Marvel Rivals has reportedly been dismissed by its parent company.

NetEase game director Thaddeus Sasser revealed that the Marvel Rivals development team in the US has been laid off, according to an Inkl report. It is a surprising move given that Marvel Rivals has become a major success,

Marvel Rivals is easily one of the most popular games this year, drawing hundreds of thousands of players on Steam alone. And yet it’s developer NetEase has laid off a team who worked on the game out of its Seattle-based studio.

Netease Games continues its layoff spree with a shocking announcement closing the studio leading development on Marvel Rivals and laying off the developers