Despite Phenomenal Launch, 'Marvel Rivals' Dev Team Axed

Marvel

Feb 20

Sometimes, you just can’t win.

No matter what you do, there are just some things that are out of your control. So, you focus on the things that you can control. At least that’s what I learned from my therapist. I wonder if it applies to the video game industry as well.

Back in December, developer NetEase released their take on the hero-shooter arena battle game, with a Marvel twist, called Marvel Rivals. It looked and played like games such as Overwatch and Valorant. Since then, it’s enjoyed massive success, topping streaming charts and players’ attentions alike. They’ve also recently revealed they will be releasing new content and player characters every six weeks, their first being the release of Susan Storm and Mr. Fantastic, and will follow up shortly with Johnny Storm and The Thing.

Despite all the fanfare and the success of the launch, the woes of the video game industry seem to be indifferent to that or unaware of these victories. It was revealed this week that the director and the Seattle development team behind the game have been laid off. The first people learned about this was through a post by the game’s director, Thaddeus Sasser, on X, revealing that they had been let go. In a heartfelt post, Sasser paid special attention to the achievements of his individual team members, highlighting their accomplishments on the game, putting a personal face on the heartless, robotic decisions that these often come down as.

RELATED:

Featured

With Game Sizes Increasing, Why Do Consoles Struggle to Hold Up?

Later, NetEase confirmed to IGN that the information was correct, with the typical detached language like claiming the decision was to “adjust Marvel Rivals’ development team structure for organizational reasons and to optimize development efficiency for the game”.

But rest assured, they want fans not to worry about the game. They are still heavily focused on ensuring Marvel Rivals delivers a quality experience.

Since its launch, the game has been downloaded over 20 million times. It’s one of the most successful launches in recent years.

READ NEXT:

Featured