NetEase Games’ Marvel Rivals has been quite hot lately, especially with the arrival of Season 1.5 (which added The Thing and Human Torch). The hero shooter is at over 40 million players, but there has been some controversy, with its Seattle-based development team recently being laid off. However, there’s seemingly a bigger shift coming.
Bloomberg revealed that NetEase is making significant changes in overseas investments, with CEO William Ding reportedly cutting jobs and closing studios. Interestingly, even Marvel Rivals wasn’t exactly safe with talk of cancelling the title before launch. Ding allegedly had issues paying Disney for the rights to use Wolverine and Spider-Man.
He also reportedly sought to use the company’s own hero designs. Though this didn’t pass, it seemingly cost “millions of dollars.” Whether it was for only these characters or others is unknown. However, given the relative popularity of Spider-Man and Wolverine worldwide, it wouldn’t be surprising if Disney charged a premium.
For what it’s worth, a company spokesperson denied all this and said NetEase and Marvel had had a “close partnership” since 2018. Aside from Marvel Rivals, the companies worked together on titles like Marvel Duel, Marvel Super War, and the upcoming Marvel Mystic Mayhem.
Following the recent layoffs, NetEase Games said it was committed to long-term support for Marvel Rivals and its core development team remains intact. Said plans include eight heroes per year. Head here for more details.
