Marvel Rivals has become one of the most popular game releases of the past year, averaging over 250,000 daily players on Steam since its December release. But according to a new report from Bloomberg, there was a time where that might never have happened.
In a report on NetEase CEO William Ding, Bloomberg sources told the outlet that there were discussions about Marvel Rivals being canceled ahead of its launch. According to those with knowledge of the situation, Ding was against paying Disney for the rights to use the Marvel characters.
Ding even had artists begin creating original characters to use instead. While it didn’t move forward permanently, the short-lived decision “cost the company millions of dollars and was emblematic of the abrupt changes ushered in by the CEO.”
For what its worth, NetEase denies the claims and says that they’ve “enjoyed a close partnership with Marvel since 2017.”
NetEase has been in the news quite a bit recently after it laid off an entire United States-based team. The studio said the decision was difficult, but that the company is committed to the future of the game.
“We want to reassure our fanbase that the core development team for Marvel Rivals, which continues to be led by Lead Producer Weicong Wu and Game Creative Director Guangyun Chen in Guangzhou, China, remains fully committed to delivering an exceptional experience,” NetEase said of the move.
“We are investing more, not less, into the evolution and growth of this game.”
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