NetEase Games Implements Broader Reductions, Impacting Marvel Rivals Team

Earlier this week, NetEase made headlines by trimming its workforce at the Marvel Rivals studio in Seattle, leaving many puzzled about why the Chinese game publisher would restrain staff on such a thriving project. Marvel Rivals, which launched in December, has been a runaway success, drawing in over 40 million players and contributing significantly to NetEase’s impressive $2.9 billion earnings in gaming and services for that release quarter.

There were rumors swirling that CEO Ding considered pulling the plug on Marvel Rivals even before its debut. It’s been said that Ding was reluctant to pay Disney for the Marvel licensing fees and toyed with the idea of swapping out the superheroes for original characters created by NetEase’s own artists. NetEase, however, denied these claims, according to a Bloomberg report.

Over the past year, NetEase has been pulling back resources from several international studios, including Worlds Untold in Vancouver, led by former BioWare creative Mac Walters, Jar of Sparks in Seattle, founded by Xbox veteran Jerry Hook, and Tokyo’s Ouka Studio, known for developing Visions of Mana for Square Enix. Even domestically, Ding is said to have made significant cutbacks, with rumors suggesting these reductions are so severe that no major titles might emerge from NetEase’s Chinese studios come 2026.

Fans of Yakuza/Like A Dragon might want to brace themselves for some disappointing news. It seems NetEase is tightening the purse strings and timeline for new projects from Japanese studios and isn’t planning to push them in the market. But there’s a silver lining for fans, as Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio is expected to deliver some exciting projects, including a fresh Virtua Fighter and something codenamed Project Century.

These international layoffs at NetEase are symptomatic of a wider instability in the gaming sector, which has faced considerable downsizing over the past few years.