Despite the free-to-play game's roaring success, NetEase Games has laid off several members of the Marvel Rivals team for "organizational reasons."

In a surprising announcement, NetEase Games has confirmed that several members of the Marvel Rivals team have been hit with layoffs. The free Xbox game has shaken up our Gameplay Chart since it launched in December, with thousands of players diving in for the Marvel Rivals achievements. NetEase Games lays off several members of the Marvel Rivals team

• Several members of the Marvel Rivals team have been laid off
• The layoffs affect NetEase Games' US-based team
• Marvel Rivals has held a top-five position on our Gameplay Chart since it launched last year

Despite Marvel Rivals massively shaking up the free-to-play game world, several members of its development team have been laid off. Reports of layoffs appeared this week, with NetEase Games game director Thaddeus Sasser revealing the news on LinkedIn. "This is such a weird industry," Sasser said. "My stellar, talented team just helped deliver an incredibly successful new franchise in Marvel Rivals for NetEase Games... and were just laid off!"

In another post, Marvel Rivals level designer Jack Burrows also confirmed that they had been laid off. "Welp, just got laid off from my job working on Marvel Rivals with NetEase. Was an enormous pleasure to work with my American coworkers who join me in this sad culling. Just couldn't dodge that big boot I guess, no matter how big the success of the gig."

Now, NetEase Games has released a statement regarding the layoffs, confirming that it only affects its Seattle-based team in the US for "organizational reasons." The core team in China will continue to work on the popular game.

"We recently made the difficult decision to adjust Marvel Rivals’ development team structure for organizational reasons and to optimize development efficiency for the game," the statement reads (via Stephan Totilo). "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."

It's shocking news to say the least, considering that Marvel Rivals is the first game to really shake up the free-to-play market on Xbox in some time. It launched on Xbox Series X|S in December, rocketing straight into the 4th spot on our Xbox Gameplay Chart and has stuck in the top five for the last ten weeks, fluctuating between 4th and 5th. Even this week, it's sitting just behind Call of Duty, Fortnite, and Minecraft, beating mega titles like Roblox, GTA V, and Rocket League.

We've seen free-to-play games have a huge impact on our chart before, but many struggle to retain their playerbase. Player First Games' brawler MultiVersus is a great example. It was a massive success when it launched into open beta in 2022, but a long hiatus between the beta and its release, along with a slow rollout of content, saw the buzz wear off quickly. MultiVersus is now scheduled to shutdown in May.

What do you make of this news? Have you been enjoying Marvel Rivals? Drop a comment below and let us know!