NetEase reduced a Seattle-based design team supporting Marvel Rivals in February 2025. GeekWire reported that six U.S. employees were dismissed. The reduction did not mean the entire global development team was laid off: NetEase said the Seattle group belonged to a larger global design function and that the game’s core development team remained in Guangzhou, China.
What happened to Marvel Rivals’ U.S. team?
On February 18, 2025, NetEase confirmed a reduction affecting a Seattle-based design team that supported Marvel Rivals. GeekWire reported that six U.S. employees were dismissed, attributing the number to NetEase. GeekWire’s February 18 report described the Seattle group as part of the game’s larger global design function.
NetEase told GeekWire it had adjusted the development team structure “for organizational reasons and to optimize development efficiency for the game.” That is the company’s stated rationale; the statement did not provide further detail about the restructuring.
Did NetEase lay off the whole Marvel Rivals development team?
No. NetEase described the reduction as affecting the Seattle design team, not the entire worldwide team. The company said the core development team was in Guangzhou, China, and remained committed to the game. Game Developer’s February 19 update named Lead Producer Weicong Wu and Game Creative Director Guangyun Chen as leaders of that Guangzhou core team.
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NetEase also said in its February 2025 statement that it was “investing more, not less” in the game’s development and growth. That describes the company’s position at the time; it does not establish what happened to staffing or investment afterward.
What did Marvel Rivals employees say?
Individual employee posts described layoffs in personal terms. Thaddeus Sasser, identified by GeekWire as the game director, wrote on LinkedIn that his team had helped deliver the successful new franchise and had then been laid off. Level designer Jack Burrows also posted that he had been laid off from his job working on the game with NetEase. These posts provide employees’ accounts; the specific six-person U.S. figure was reported by GeekWire as coming from NetEase.
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What is known about U.S. staffing now?
The cited reports document the February 2025 reduction, not later changes in NetEase’s U.S. staffing. They do not establish whether the company retained, replaced, or added U.S.-based Marvel Rivals staff after that announcement, so the 2025 event should not be presented as proof that all U.S. development permanently ended.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Why was there a U.S. design team?
NetEase Games and Marvel Games announced Marvel Rivals on March 27, 2024 as a team-based player-versus-player shooter in development for PC by a NetEase team drawing on global talent. Their announcement described plans for post-launch seasonal heroes and maps. That background helps explain the game’s global development structure, but it does not explain the later organizational decision.
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