Uncovering the Controversy: Why NetEase’s CEO Considered Scrapping ‘Marvel Rivals’

NetEase is in a bit of a pickle. They have a big hit with Marvel Rivals, but they are also facing layoffs across some of their studios. The journey to launch Marvel Rivals was rocky and filled with doubts.

William Ding, the CEO of NetEase, nearly scrapped Marvel Rivals altogether. This information comes from a recent Bloomberg report. In an effort to compete with big names like MiHoYo and Tencent, NetEase sought to cut costs. This almost cost them their Marvel project.

The problem lay with Disney’s hefty licensing fees for using their characters. To save costs, Ding suggested creating original characters instead, which could have led to a game that was just another clone of Overwatch. Ironically, attempting to cancel the game ended up losing millions. However, Marvel Rivals pushed through and had a strong launch, especially impressive for a new hero shooter in a saturated market.

Over the years, there have been many Marvel games, and some have succeeded, especially on mobile. However, not all have fared well. A notable flop was Marvel’s Avengers, which struggled to justify its licensing costs. Unlike Avengers, Marvel Rivals is a multiplayer PvP game, making it a better fit for the Marvel brand. Games like the single-player Guardians of the Galaxy were considered “underperformers” for similar reasons—it’s tough when licensing fees outweigh sales.

For now, it looks like the Marvel license is benefiting Marvel Rivals. NetEase emphasizes their good relationship with Marvel, working together to introduce new characters and align with upcoming movies, like Fantastic Four.

Marvel Rivals kicked off with over 644,000 players on Steam, peaking at around 438,000. It’s still performing well and maintains a top spot across Steam, Xbox, and PS5. The buzz from shooter fans has been mostly positive, which is noteworthy for new games that often struggle to gain traction. It’s hard to imagine the same excitement if it were just a standard NetEase title.

This success is just one side of NetEase’s broader operations. The looming layoffs suggest the company is still figuring out its path and focus. More news likely lies ahead.