The Internet Reacts To Shocking Marvel Rivals Layoffs
On February 18, NetEase laid off Marvel Rivals development team members, including game director Thaddeus Sasser, just two months after its incredibly successful launch. The hero shooter has been such a runaway success that the news blindsided people across the video game industry. According to a statement the company issued to Game File, NetEase made these cuts 'for organizational reasons and to optimize development efficiency for the game.' The layoffs specifically affected the support team based in Seattle while the 'core' Guangzhou-based team 'remains fully committed to delivering an exceptional experience.'
'We are investing more, not less, into the evolution and growth of this game,' the statement reads. 'We're excited to deliver new super hero characters, maps, features, and content to ensure an engaging live service experience for our worldwide player base.'
NetEase can say Marvel Rivals will be fine with these cuts, but the industry is still reeling from the layoffs, especially given how well the shooter has done in a volatile live-service market. The free-to-play game accumulated over 20 million players in its first month, and is estimated to have brought in over $136 million in revenue in that time. Several industry members and pundits have expressed disbelief at how a game could be doing so well while the employment of the people who helped make it a success remains so precarious.
One notable aspect of this situation is that NetEase, a China-based company, is broadly pulling out of overseas development. For example, in 2024, the company pulled its funding for Worlds Untold, a Vancouver-based studio led by ex-BioWare director Mac Walters, causing the studio to 'pause' its operations. The Marvel Rivals layoffs may be part of a larger trend in NetEase's business plans, but it's still proof that even a runaway success isn't enough to save you from the whims of a corporation.
If NetEase is looking to untether itself from overseas development, it raises questions about the future of several companies under the corporation's umbrella. NetEase's overseas investments include studios like Bulletfarm, led by ex-Call of Duty developer David Vonderhaar, and Bad Brain Game Studios which is made up of ex-Ubisoft devs. The video game industry is in a state of unprecedented turnover right now, with thousands of people having lost their jobs in the past year. The teams behind successful games and flops alike are getting hit with layoffs, so what exactly is a developer to do?
Marvel Rivals is approaching its mid-season update on Friday, February 21, which will add the Human Torch and the Thing to the roster. The hero shooter may keep trucking along, but the game's success story now has a cloud hanging over it just two months into its life.For the latest news, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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Shanghai Launches Merged Film and TV Market With Industry-Public Hybrid Model
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Dick's Sporting Goods seeks village financial support for Orland Square House of Sports concept store
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Located in a former Mexican restaurant on a Home Depot outlot by the Metra station along Lake Cook Road, the Deerfield K9 Resorts underwent a four-month, multimillion dollar buildout to transform into a luxury pet hotel. Out went the kitchens and in went high-end accommodations for hounds that at first glance, might beckon their human companions to check in as well. It has a glitzy lobby adorned with chandeliers, ornate columns, tasteful artwork and a regal front desk. The inviting hotel rooms are numbered, set off by wall sconces, giving the ambience of a high-end resort for people, who of course, are paying the tab for their furry family members. 'I think that the attention to detail that we put into each resort is so obvious that it makes the customer, the two-legged customer, feel good,' said Jason Parker, 38, co-founder and co-CEO of New Jersey-based K9 Resorts. 'The dogs are very happy customers, because they're in a five-star hotel.' 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Choosing Deerfield for the first Illinois location, the investment group obtained a 10-year lease on the former El Tradicional Mexican Restaurant in July 2024, converting the 6,200-square-foot building to a luxury pet hotel after getting special use approval from the village. The location has housed a succession of restaurants, starting with a Bennigan's at the dawn of the new millennium. Other buildings on the sprawling Home Depot outlot include a Curaleaf cannabis dispensary and an empty McAlister's Deli, which closed its Deerfield location in April. Accommodations at the pet hotel run from $59 a night in the compartment wing of the hotel, bilevel crates with memory foam beds. The executive rooms run $89 per night for 4-by-6-foot enclosures and the top-of-the-line luxury suites are $109 per night. The 8-by-8-foot luxury suites include a premium couch or Kuranda bed. There is no mini-fridge or Wi-Fi, but each of the six luxury suites has its own 32-inch TV for the dog's viewing pleasure. 'We do put on DogTV and Animal Planet for a calming presence,' said Zack Nisbet, executive vice president in charge of the Chicago region for the investment group. In addition to extensive work within the building, the Deerfield K9 Resorts features a walled-in, 2,300-square-foot outdoor play area with artificial antimicrobial grass where diners once sipped margaritas on the restaurant's patio as trains rumbled by on the nearby tracks. While the Home Depot outlot has not necessarily proved fertile ground for restaurants, Nisbet said the high-traffic location should help drive business to the pet hotel. The pet hotel offers both day care and overnight stays, and can accommodate up to 150 dogs, with family multidog stays. It's located just west of a competing facility, The Dog Stop, which is on the other side of the tracks from K9 Resorts. 'The Dog Stop being across the street, actually excited us,' Nisbet said. 'That's proof of demand, proof that there's a lot of dogs in the area. We knew we could provide an upgrade to the region.' Chicago is a key expansion market for K9 Resorts and the investment group, which is currently scouting out potential locations in a number of areas, including Palatine, Libertyville and the city itself, Nisbet said. Nationwide, the luxury pet hotels have opened up in everything from a former Wells Fargo bank branch to a converted CVS pharmacy. One is even housed in a former Old County Buffet, the now defunct all-you-can-eat restaurant chain which closed its last Illinois restaurant five years ago. While most dogs probably would have been very content to stay at an Old Country Buffet without the renovation, after a lengthy multimillion dollar redevelopment in Deerfield, Nisbet said turning a restaurant into a luxury pet hotel would not be his first choice for the second Chicago-area location. 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