NetEase Founder Nearly Axed Marvel Rivals Over IP

NetEase's Marvel Rivals has been nothing short of a phenomenon, attracting ten million players within its first three days and generating millions in revenue for the developer in the subsequent weeks. However, a new report reveals that NetEase CEO and founder William Ding almost scrapped the project due to his initial reluctance to license an established intellectual property.

The Bloomberg report outlines NetEase's current strategic shift: Ding is actively reducing headcount, shuttering studios, and pulling back from overseas investments. The stated aim is to create a more focused and efficient portfolio to counter recent slowing growth and better compete with rivals like Tencent and MiHoYo.

As part of this consolidation, Bloomberg notes that canceling Marvel Rivals was seriously considered. According to an insider, Ding was hesitant to pay for the Marvel character licenses and attempted to convince the development team to use original designs instead. This near-cancellation reportedly cost the company millions, yet the game proceeded to launch and achieve its current success.

Despite this success, the downsizing continues. Earlier this week, it was confirmed that the Marvel Rivals team in Seattle was let go, with the company citing "organizational adjustments." Over the past year, Ding has also halted investments in foreign projects, reversing a previous strategy of heavy funding for studios in Japan and the West, such as Bungie, Devolver Digital, and Blizzard Entertainment. The report indicates Ding believes games unlikely to generate annual revenues in the hundreds of millions are not worthwhile, though a company spokesperson told Bloomberg that NetEase does not apply "arbitrary blanket financial thresholds" to evaluate new games.

Employees interviewed by Bloomberg described internal turmoil at NetEase, largely attributed to Ding's volatile leadership style. According to these accounts, Ding makes swift decisions but frequently changes course, has pushed staff to work excessive hours, has placed recent graduates in key leadership positions, and has canceled so many projects that the company might not release any new games in China next year.

NetEase's retreat from game investments coincides with a period of sustained instability across the global games industry, particularly in Western markets. Consecutive years have witnessed widespread layoffs, project cancellations, studio closures, and the high-profile failure of several expensive, highly anticipated titles that failed to meet corporate expectations.