What a week it has been in the gaming industry! We shared news about layoffs within the Marvel Rivals team at NetEase earlier. In a surprising turn, an entire department in North America faced redundancies despite Marvel Rivals’ ongoing success. This raises questions about what’s happening behind the scenes.
A new report from Game File’s Stephen Totilo paints a grimmer picture for NetEase. The once-mighty gaming titan is grappling with challenges, and several studios it has launched or invested in are experiencing similar fates, just like Liquid Swords, which recently announced layoffs.
According to Totilo’s findings, we may not have seen the full extent of this turmoil yet, with reports indicating that ‘more than a dozen studios’ might be on the chopping block.
The situation at NetEase appears dire. Game File’s report emphasized that cuts won’t stop with Liquid Swords or the Marvel Rivals team.
The report states:
“NetEase is actively shopping around more of its non-Chinese studios—many of the very same ones it announced over the last three years,” according to sources familiar with the company’s efforts.
This move suggests that NetEase is looking to divest its ‘overseas teams,’ which could lead to closures if these studios cannot secure funding after being dropped by their parent company. Considering how many people could be affected by these decisions is unsettling.
If history is any guide, this situation might echo previous events where major companies faced massive layoffs; for instance, Embracer Group laid off over 4,500 employees last year while shuttering around 80 projects and closing some notable studios. With NetEase being one of the largest game firms globally by revenue, ranked just below Nintendo, it remains concerning given their workforce numbers hover around 30,000.
