Latest news with #ThaddeusSasser
Yahoo
19-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
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 the latest news, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Yahoo
19-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Marvel Rivals team hit with layoffs despite huge success of game
Chinese game publisher NetEase has laid off Marvel Rivals development team members including the game director, Kotaku reported. Some of those let go expressed surprise and dismay at the move considering that the team-based PVP shooter has consistently been in the top ten on Steam since its December debut. A large part of the Marvel Rivals development team is located in China, but only North American layoffs were reported. It's not clear yet how many people were let go. "This is such a weird industry," wrote game director Thaddeus Sasser on LinkedIn. "My stellar, talented team just helped deliver an incredibly successful new franchise in Marvel Rivals for NetEase Games... and were just laid off." 'I don't get it, man,' wrote game artist Del Walker on Bluesky. 'You make one of the most successful LIVE service titles of the generation, despite the world telling you LIVE service is dead - and still get laid off? What are we even doing at this point." See for yourself — The Yodel is the go-to source for daily news, entertainment and feel-good stories. By signing up, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy. Marvel Rivals currently sits at number six on Steam's top seller list and just had its first big content update for Season 1 that happened at nearly the same time as the layoffs. The game has received solid reviews for its Marvel lore and straightforward gameplay and has reportedly been very successful in its first month. It has been one of the rare good stories in terms of live service games, following announcements from Sony that some of its titles in development had been scrapped. There are concerns that more layoffs may be coming from China-based studios in response to US tariffs. In a statement to VentureBeat, however, NetEase denied that it is eliminating its foreign investments and overseas gaming studios. "For 2025, we have an extensive pipeline of titles in development, feature a variety of genres, including FragPunk, Ananta and more," NetEase said in the statement. "[However] as part of our investment strategy, we started scaling down two of our studios at the end of 2024. This decision was based purely on business evaluations and not influenced by other factors. And this represents only a small portion of our overseas studio portfolio."
Yahoo
19-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
《漫威爭鋒》網易美國工作室裁員熱議，官方回應：沒有總監被開除，都是謠言
中國大陸網易旗下《漫威爭鋒》（Marvel Rivals）從去年 12 月推出後，人氣居高不下，在 Steam 仍保持超過 30 多萬人在線。然而最近卻有消息傳出，《漫威爭鋒》的總監和團隊遭到解僱，對此社群經理卻直接闢謠，並且批評媒體用詞有問題，稱：「沒有總監被開除，這都是謠言」 事件起因是美國西雅圖的網易工作室，負責協助開發《漫威爭鋒》的關卡設計師 Jack Burrows，在 Linkedin 上發文說自己被解數了，所以正在尋找新的工作機會。同樣的，擔任西雅圖工作室遊戲總監的 Thaddeus Sasser，也提到自己被解僱的消息，一邊抱怨一邊介紹自己的員工：「我協助開發價值數十億美元的系列作品。這真是一個奇怪的產業...我那優秀且才華橫溢的團隊剛協助網易遊戲推出了一個超級成功的新系列作品《漫威爭鋒》...結果卻被裁員了！」 Marvel Rivals director and team laid off according to posts — Wario64 (@Wario64) February 18, 2025 這消息讓許多喜愛《漫威爭鋒》的玩家都感到錯愕，不理解為什麼網易要在成功後開除團隊，甚至是重要的遊戲總監。網友更懷疑是不是網易在遊戲成功後，為了節省成本的選擇，更擔心遊戲未來的品質是否會受到影響。 而對此，《漫威爭鋒》官方 Discord 上的社群經理 James 回應並批評媒體：「有一件事情我想要澄清一下。只有一位總監，那就是陳廣雲，我不喜歡散佈不實謠言，詆毀我們團隊自開發以來所投入的心血。在你們甚至不了解《漫威爭鋒》開發團隊內部結構的情況下，請不要妄下職場騷擾的結論。我這麼說僅僅是因為媒體最初的措辭完全錯誤，非常可笑。」後續 James 也補充相信上層的決定，他知道這不會影響到遊戲。 事後，有許多媒體人，包含前《魔獸世界》製作人「Grummz」Mark Kern，都解釋被解僱的是只有 6 人的美國支援工作室，並非《漫威爭鋒》在中國大陸的開發團隊，真正的創意總監仍然在網易，沒有被開除。Thaddeus Sasser 是負責預算和人力管理的部分，這次裁員更像是進行重組，不是什麼影響遊戲的重大決定。 It's wild to see the Marvel Rivals thing be spun out of proportion by legacy media in real-time. The impact seems far less than they are reporting. Here is what we know:- 6 people were laid off from the US division of Netease. This may have been the entire size of the Seattle… — Grummz (@Grummz) February 18, 2025 緊貼最新科技資訊、網購優惠，追隨 Yahoo Tech 各大社交平台！ 🎉📱 Tech Facebook： 🎉📱 Tech Instagram： 🎉📱 Tech WhatsApp 社群： 🎉📱 Tech WhatsApp 頻道： 🎉📱 Tech Telegram 頻道：
Express Tribune
19-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Express Tribune
Marvel Rivals layoffs spark backlash despite 20 million players
Marvel Rivals, the multiplayer shooter developed by NetEase Games, has reportedly laid off several employees from its U.S. team, despite the game's massive success since its launch in December 2024. Multiple former employees took to LinkedIn to share the news of their layoffs, raising questions about the studio's decision. Level designer Jack Burrows announced his dismissal, writing, 'Welp, just got laid off from my job working on Marvel Rivals with NetEase.' Similarly, Thaddeus Sasser, a game director at NetEase, expressed frustration, stating, 'My stellar, talented team just helped deliver an incredibly successful new franchise in Marvel Rivals for NetEase Games... and were just laid off!' NetEase has yet to release an official statement regarding the layoffs or provide details on their scope and reasoning. The news has sparked significant backlash among players, many of whom took to Steam reviews to express disappointment. Of the approximately 1,000 reviews posted today, over 300 have been negative, with many users criticizing NetEase for dismissing key developers despite the game's record-breaking numbers. Marvel Rivals, which quickly amassed 20 million players within its first month, has stood out in an increasingly competitive live-service gaming market, alongside Palworld and Helldivers 2. It ranks in the top five games based on weekly active users across Xbox, PlayStation, and Steam, currently sitting at number three on Steam's most-played games chart. Despite its evident success, the layoffs highlight the volatility of the gaming industry, with Sasser summing up the situation on LinkedIn: 'This is such a weird industry…'
