“Near Cancellation: The Turbulent Journey of Wonder Opponents”

Marvel’s Rivals, which has been a tremendous success for publisher NetEase since its launch late last year, was reportedly almost shelved. It is claimed that the company considered canceling the project due to its CEO’s disapproval of compensating Disney for the rights to its characters.

This information is according to a recent Bloomberg report outlining the latest strategic shifts by NetEase’s CEO, William Ding, which have involved significant job reductions, closure of studios, and a retreat from global investments amidst sluggish company growth and a drop in revenue over the past two and a half years.

It is reported that Marvel’s Rivals – which has generated over $200 million for NetEase since its release last December – was also under consideration for cancellation before its launch. According to Bloomberg, discussions regarding its termination emerged after Ding objected to paying Disney for the rights to its well-known Marvel characters – with the CEO at one point reportedly requesting that artists replace them with original NetEase character designs. These efforts were eventually abandoned.

The choice – characterized as “representative of the abrupt changes brought about by the CEO” by Bloomberg’s sources – is said to have ultimately cost NetEase millions of dollars, although a spokesperson refuted the story in a statement to the publication, asserting that the company has had a “close partnership with Marvel” since 2017.

Over the past year, Ding’s bold strategy has affected multiple studios in the West. In November, for example, BioWare veteran Mac Walters announced a “slowdown” in operations at his NetEase-supported Worlds Untold, while Jar of Sparks – a first-party NetEase developer founded by Halo Infinite‘s head of design Jerry Hook – stopped work in January, resulting in staff layoffs.

This week also saw NetEase reduce its workforce at the Marvel’s Rivals creative team in the US, despite the game’s significant triumph, stating that the decision was made to “optimize development efficiency.”