In a move that has stunned both fans and industry professionals, NetEase Games has laid off most of the US team behind the wildly successful hero shooter Marvel Rivals. Despite the game’s dominance across platforms like Steam, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S, the entire Seattle-based development team, including director Thaddeus Sasser, has been let go in a string of Marvel Rivals layoffs that decimated the game’s US workforce.
A screenshot from the Marvel Rivals Trailer – YouTube, Marvel Entertainment
Marvel Rivals has enjoyed an extraordinary launch, drawing in over 20 million players in its first month alone. The 6v6 shooter, praised for its fast-paced gameplay and plentiful roster of Marvel characters, quickly became one of the most played multiplayer games of the year. Even as many live-service games struggled to maintain audiences, Marvel Rivals thrived, consistently ranking as the top-played game on Steam and staying in the top five on consoles.
NetEase, a Chinese gaming giant, has seen its fair share of success in the global market, and Marvel Rivals was poised to be another long-term hit. The game’s transparent communication with players, particularly from its developers in China, earned praise from the community. Regular updates, balance patches, and new content, such as the well-received Season 1.5 update featuring Human Torch and The Thing, kept players engaged. Yet, none of this was enough to prevent the sudden closure of the Seattle studio, Anchor Point, which played a key role in the game’s development.
Marvel Rivals director and team laid off according to posts https://t.co/pphzvfDBYF pic.twitter.com/KRHDgjq2pq
— Wario64 (@Wario64) February 18, 2025
Director Thaddeus Sasser expressed his disbelief on LinkedIn.
“This is such a weird industry,” he said. “My stellar, talented team just helped deliver an incredibly successful new franchise in Marvel Rivals for NetEase Games… and were just laid off! Oh well! Times are tough all over – Let’s find these incredible people new jobs, because we all need to eat, right?”
Level designer Jack Burrows echoed similar sentiments, lamenting the loss of his job despite the game’s success.
A screenshot from Marvel Rivals (TBD), NetEase Games
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“Welp, just got laid off from my job working on Marvel Rivals with NetEase,” he said on social media. “Was an enormous pleasure to work with my American coworkers who join me in this sad culling. Just couldn’t dodge that big boot I guess, no matter how big the success of the gig.”
The layoffs have sparked confusion and frustration within the gaming community. Industry veteran Del Walker voiced his dismay, asking, “You make one of the most successful live-service titles of the generation, despite the world telling you live service is dead – and still get laid off? What are we even doing at this point?”
While NetEase has not provided an official explanation for the layoffs, the impact on Marvel Rivals’ future remains uncertain. The game’s community is left wondering how these cuts will affect upcoming content, especially with ambitious plans for new hero releases on the horizon. Anchor Point’s future is also unclear, though the studio’s Barcelona branch still has active job listings.
A screenshot from Marvel Rivals (TBD), NetEase Games
Marvel Rivals has proven that live-service games can still capture players’ attention, making the decision to lay off its successful development team even more bizarre.
