The video game industry has not been in a very good place lately. Over the last several years, primarily after the pandemic, game studios of all sizes have been struck with layoff and closures. As budgets balloon and publishers expect higher and higher sales, it seems as if you have to strike it huge in order to survive at all. But what if you do hit it big and still get laid off?
That’s what happened to the crew behind “Marvel Rivals.”
The game industry has often been about following trends. After Activision/Blizzard’s “Overwatch” hit it big, other companies have been trying to set their sights on the multiplayer ‘hero shooter’ genre. Sony tried it with “Concord” and it became one of the biggest failures in the history of gaming. Surprisingly though, NetEase games as able to knock it out of the park with their game “Marvel Rivals.”
Released in December of 2024, the game has quickly gained a following, thanks in no small part to proper utilization of the Marvel name and its roster of characters. The title’s success is noteworthy not just because of it existing in the same space as “Overwatch” but in how people are actually continuing to support it with a high player count. Getting that kind of foothold in the market is harder now than it’s ever been. So naturally, NetEase has laid off the people who helped develop it.
One of the game’s directors, Thaddeus Sasser, was unceremoniously laid off. Sasser, along with his team, were cut in addition to level designer Jack Burrows. Sasser took the high road though and used his post to praise one of his team members, Garry McGee. Sasser is aiming to elevate the profile of those he worked with, hoping to find them jobs elsewhere.
How does something like this happen? Hard to say because we don’t know the terms of how Sasser and his team were hired, but this kind of thing happens all too easily in gaming. Sometimes people are just hired on contracts and once game development is over, that’s it. Perhaps the idea was to just get “Marvel Rivals” released and then keep on a skeleton crew for maintenance and updates.
If you ever needed an example of why unions are so important in the gaming industry, this is it. If success is no indication of job security than what is? Well, a union contract, that’s what. It’s disheartening to see things like this happen and our hearts go out to those who were laid off. Here’s hoping that the success of “Marvel Rivals” will at least lead to the team members finding jobs elsewhere.
