{"id":1130026,"date":"2026-02-03T05:42:51","date_gmt":"2026-02-03T05:42:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.polygon.com\/?p=527711"},"modified":"2026-02-03T05:42:51","modified_gmt":"2026-02-03T05:42:51","slug":"marvel-rivals-layoffs-are-just-part-of-neteases-ice-cold-job-and-game-cuts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/marvel-rivals-layoffs-are-just-part-of-neteases-ice-cold-job-and-game-cuts\/","title":{"rendered":"Marvel Rivals layoffs are just part of NetEase\u2019s ice-cold job and game cuts"},"content":{"rendered":"
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When NetEase slashed jobs<\/a> at its Marvel Rivals<\/a><\/em> development studio in Seattle earlier this week, it was unclear why the Chinese game publisher would make cuts around such a successful project. Marvel Rivals<\/em> has attracted more than 40 million players since its December launch, helping NetEase rack up $2.9 billion in gaming and services revenue during the quarter the game was released.<\/p>\n

According to a report from Bloomberg<\/a>, the cuts to the North American team working on Marvel Rivals<\/em> aren\u2019t an anomaly. NetEase founder and CEO William Ding is reported to have cut hundreds of jobs, closed studios, and taken a firmer hand with the company\u2019s Japanese teams \u2014 including the one led by former Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio head Toshihiro Nagoshi<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Ding also reportedly floated canceling development of Marvel Rivals<\/em> before it was released. The billionaire CEO is said to have balked at paying Disney a licensing fee for Marvel\u2019s superheroes and villains, and considered replacing them with NetEase artists\u2019 own hero designs. (NetEase denied this account, Bloomberg reported.)<\/p>\n

Over the past year, NetEase has divested from multiple studios outside China, including Worlds Untold, the Vancouver-based developer led by ex-BioWare creative Mac Walters; Jar of Sparks, the Seattle-based studio founded in 2022 by Xbox veteran Jerry Hook; and Ouka Studio, the Tokyo-based developer of Visions of Mana<\/em> for Square Enix. Ding is reported to have scaled back studios locally as well, and those cuts are said to be deep enough that NetEase\u2019s Chinese studios might not release any major titles in 2026.<\/p>\n

Shortly after Bloomberg\u2019s story was published, Game File<\/a> reported on Friday that NetEase plans to divest from \u201cthe majority of its overseas teams,\u201d which could impact more than a dozen studios backed by the Chinese publisher. That could potentially encompass studios set up by NetEase in recent years, like T-Minus Zero Entertainment<\/a>, founded by former BioWare Austin VP Rich Vogel; and Fantastic Pixel Castle<\/a>, which is making a \u201cmodernized fantasy MMORPG\u201d under World of Warcraft<\/em> and League of Legends<\/em> veteran designer Greg Street. NetEase also acquired Grasshopper Manufacture<\/a> and Quantic Dream<\/a> in 2021 and 2022, respectively.<\/p>\n

For Yakuza\/Like A Dragon fans anticipating its former creators\u2019 new works, there\u2019s some dire-sounding news. NetEase has reportedly curtailed additional funding and time for new titles from Japanese studios, and has no plans to market or promote them. At least fans will have more from Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio, including a new Virtua Fighter<\/a> and Project Century<\/a><\/em> to look forward to.<\/p>\n

NetEase\u2019s layoffs at international studios are part of the larger trend of uncertainty in the video game industry, which has endured massive cutbacks in recent years<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Update:<\/strong> This story has been updated with new reporting from Game File, which paints an even grimmer picture of NetEase\u2019s plans to withdraw from overseas studios.<\/p>\n

Source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When NetEase slashed jobs at its Marvel Rivals development studio in Seattle earlier this week, it was unclear why the Chinese game publisher would make cuts around such a successful project. Marvel Rivals has attracted more than 40 million players since its December launch, helping NetEase rack up $2.9 billion in gaming and services revenue during the quarter the game was released. According to a report from Bloomberg, the cuts to the North American team working on Marvel Rivals aren\u2019t an anomaly. NetEase founder and CEO William Ding is reported to have cut hundreds of jobs, closed studios, and taken a firmer hand with the company\u2019s Japanese teams \u2014 including the one led by former Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio head Toshihiro Nagoshi. Ding also reportedly floated…<\/p>\n

Read More…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1130027,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1130026","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-polygon"],"yoast_head":"\nMarvel Rivals layoffs are just part of NetEase\u2019s ice-cold job and game cuts | Arcader News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"When NetEase slashed jobs at its Marvel Rivals development studio in Seattle earlier this week, it was unclear why the Chinese game publisher would make\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/marvel-rivals-layoffs-are-just-part-of-neteases-ice-cold-job-and-game-cuts\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta 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