NetEase announces Marvel Rivals 40M player surge days after employee layoffs

Recently, Marvel rival made an announcement of laying off its employees on a large scale. Shortly after that, they made another announcement saying that their hero shooter, Marvel Rivals game, has crossed 40 million players and are at the top in terms of player count since January. 

During the NetEase Q4 earning 2024 release, they stated, “Marvel Rivals topped Steam’s global top sellers chart shortly after its launch on December 6, amassing over 10 million registered users within 72 hours and over 40 million to date. Its Season 1 update in January 2025 sparked another surge, claiming the No. 1 spots on Steam’s top sellers and most-played charts worldwide."

The 2024 earnings, RMB 16.3Billion, were slightly lesser as compared to the 2023 earnings which was RMB 16.8 Billion. The drop in the earnings were due to a low revenue income from mobile games, as claimed by NetEase. 

Also Read: NetEase releases statement on recent layoffs across US-based team for Marvel Rivals

'To shape the next wave of gaming trends'

NetEase CEO William Ding stated, “We boldly pushed the boundaries of innovation once again in 2024, delivering groundbreaking gaming experiences that captivated players worldwide. 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,” he further added. 

The Q4 earning numbers came just two days after the mass lay-offs of the employees from the US based company’s development team. The reason which was given by them was due to organisational restructuring and an effort to optimize development and efficiency in the game. NetEase claims that they have been focusing on Marvel Rival’s core development team, which is based in China and their work has not been subjected to any interruptions. There are many speculations that the layoff might be a result of the protectionist policies laid down by the Trump administration.