> As reported last night, the job cuts within Marvel Rivals' western-based development team follow a recent pattern by NetEase, which has made broader reconsiderations to its overseas investments and studios.<p>> In November of last year, Mac Walters - the veteran writer and producer who worked on Mass Effect for almost two decades - announced a "pause" in operations at his NetEase-backed AAA game studio, Worlds Untold. Then, last month, Jar of Sparks - the Seattle-based "AAA" studio established by Halo Infinite head of design Jerry Hook back in 2022 - halted work its currently-unannounced first title as it searched for a new publishing partner, stating it's looking to "find all of our team new homes" as a result.<p>> More recently, the NetEase-backed and Sweden-based developer Liquid Swords announced an unspecified number of layoffs, before it had even released its first game.<p>Maybe one day westerners will realize the stove is hot and learn to stop working with Chinese companies lest they get burned.