Table of Contents
It has been reported that a "game director" at NetEase Games and their team working on Marvel Rivals has been laid off. There is no doubt that currently the gaming industry is going through a tough time, but there is also no question that Marvel Rivals has been a massive success and has been one of the biggest game releases ever.
Up until now, Marvel Rivals has maintained its popularity with constant updates, responsiveness to community feedback, and more. We investigate what's happening behind the scenes!
Original Post by Thaddeus Sasser
Below is the original post on LinkedIn by Thaddeus Sasser sharing that their Marvel Rivals team at NetEase Games was laid off (six in total), which was brought to light by the mainstream media and community.
The post specifies that they were under a "Research & Development" branch, involving team members in Level Design for example, and all based in Seattle in the United States.
Creative Director
Players should note that NetEase is a Chinese company, and as can be seen on Dev Talk videos, the roles of the team are specified there as well. For example, Guangguang is noted as the Creative Director of Marvel Rivals.
Regardless, it is clear that there were two different roles: One in charge of budgets and manpower, not the creative vision for the game.
Clarification by the Community Manager
The Community Manager James provided some unofficial clarification on the official Marvel Rivals Discord server:
well theres one thing that I would like to clarify.
- Theres only 1 Director, and that is Guangguang, I do not like false rumors being spread discrediting the work our team has poured in ever since development
Following up
- Lets not reach an conclusion on workplace harassment when you dont even know what the structure is like within the rivals dev team. I'm simply saying this because it is phrased wrongly by the media initially, totally funny
yes, and expanding on the issue of whomever is worried that we would lose our western audience touch, our team has weekly meetings with the Marvel Team every week, and communicate on a daily basis. yall can go find interviews and articles, its Marvel Rivals
That would not be something I am in position to discuss in our community, but I trust our team's decision and I know this will not impact our game's future fam
Statement From NetEase
We recently made the difficult decision to adjust Marvel Rivals’ development team structure for organizational reasons and to optimize development efficiency for the game. This resulted in a reduction of a design team based in Seattle that is part of a larger global design function in support of Marvel Rivals. We appreciate the hard work and dedication of those affected and will be treating them confidentially and respectfully with recognition for their individual contributions.
We want to reassure our fanbase that the core development team for Marvel Rivals, which continues to be led by Lead Producer Weicong Wu and Game Creative Director Guangyun Chen in Guangzhou, China, remains fully committed to delivering an exceptional experience. We are investing more, not less, into the evolution and growth of this game. We’re excited to deliver new superhero characters, maps, features, and content to ensure an engaging live service experience for our worldwide player base.
Wccftech
Conclusion
In summary:
- There is a slight misunderstanding in the title of the different Director roles in the community.
- The game production is primarily based in NetEase China.
- It remains to be seen the impact of these layoffs to Marvel Rivals and the magnitude of contribution of the team members involved in the game outside of NetEase China.
- Gaming industry layoffs are not good regardless.
