Marvel Rivals' Cancelation Was Considered Before Release, NetEase Making Changes - Report

Amidst the abrupt layoffs of some employees who worked Marvel Rivals, it's now reported that the game's cancelation was considered prior to its release, which is a surprising revelation, given it has already surpassed 40 million players.

According to Bloomberg, there were discussions about canceling the game. NetEase CEO William Ding reportedly didn't want to pay Disney for using popular Marvel characters like Spider-Man and Wolverine, and asked artists to replace them with NetEase's own hero designs. While this change didn't end up happening, the wasted effort reportedly cost millions of dollars. However, a NetEase spokesperson denied this account, explaining that the company and Marvel have had a close relationship since 2017.

The sudden layoff of US-based Marvel Rivals developers despite the game's massive success raised questions among fans. "We recently made the difficult decision to adjust Marvel Rivals’ development team structure for organizational reasons and to optimize development efficiency for the game," NetEase said in a statement earlier this week. "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."

Ding has also reportedly ended support for about a dozen of other gaming projects, and as a result, NetEase's China-based Studios may not have any big releases next year. Outside of China, NetEase has recently shut down or paused operations at developers it acquired, such as Visions of Mana developer Ouka and a former BioWare veteran's studio, Untold Worlds. There are reportedly fewer than 60 employees across NetEase's overseas studios at it curbs investments outside of China.

Yakuza/Like a Dragon creator Toshihiro Nagoshi joined NetEase back in 2022 and created his own studio. While Nagoshi hasn't revealed what he's working on over at NetEase, his studio, along with other Japanese ones like Suda51's Grasshopper Manufacture, has reportedly been given time to wrap up their ongoing projects, although there will be no additional funding or time for future projects. NetEase also reportedly doesn't have any plans to promote its Japanese games.

NetEase's first western studio, Jackalyptic Games, is currently working on a Warhammer MMO. It was first announced in 2023, and the studio has yet to reveal much more information. However, it has reportedly gotten positive reception from other publishers. In a statement to Bloomberg, Ding said that NetEase remains committed to its overseas studios.

Yet, Game File reports that NetEase is shopping its non-Chinese studios around. NetEase is also reportedly planning to divest itself from a majority of its overseas teams, and this could potentially lead to more studios closing down if they can't secure additional funding after being separated from NetEase.

2025 continues to be tumultuous time in the video game industry, as studios are still letting go of employees or shutting down entirely.