Days after laying off a number of its devs, NetEase has confirmed that Marvel Rivals has amassed over 40 million players as its CEO celebrates the company's "new hit titles" setting "new industry benchmarks."
Earlier this week, US-based Marvel Rivals game director Thaddeus Sasser took to LinkedIn to say that his "stellar, talented team just helped deliver an incredibly successful new franchise in Marvel Rivals for NetEase Games [...] and were just laid off!" NetEase Games later confirmed that it'd "made the difficult decision to adjust Marvel Rivals' development team structure," which ultimately "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."
This news was shocking given how popular Marvel Rivals continues to be, and NetEase's latest financial results have totally hammered home the game's success. As highlighted by Niko Partners' Daniel Ahmad on Twitter, the company's fourth quarter results for fiscal year 2024 reveal that beyond racking up 10 million registered users in its first three days, to date, the third-person hero shooter has surpassed 40 million players. The results also acknowledge that the game hit "No. 1 spots on Steam's top sellers and most-played charts worldwide" following its Season 1 update last month.
In a statement published in the financial results, NetEase director and CEO William Ding says the company "boldly pushed the boundaries of innovation" in 2024 by "delivering groundbreaking gaming experiences that captivated players worldwide."
Ding doesn't mention Marvel Rivals by name, but says: "Our new hit titles not only redefined gameplay but also set new industry benchmarks, while our legacy franchises gained fresh momentum through striking enhancements in design, storytelling and immersive content. As our diverse game portfolio expands across more genres and engages an ever-growing global audience, we remain dedicated to fostering creativity and collaborating with top talent and strategic partners to shape the next wave of gaming trends."
Again, it feels strange to hear this so close after the announcement of layoffs. In its previous statement confirming the "reduction" of the Seattle design team, NetEase Games said it was "investing more, not less, into the evolution and growth" of Marvel Rivals.
Following Marvel Rivals layoffs, Baldur's Gate 3 publishing director says studios fail big games when they don't set expectations for players: "Under promise, over-deliver."
