Executives and other employees at Marvel Rivals developer and publisher NetEase have been arrested in connection with an alleged money laundering scheme. The amount laundered could be up to $139 million dollars.
With Marvel Rivals on the horizon, it’s an exciting time for NetEase, The beta was exceptional, and it’s got potential to come out swinging as a rival to Overwatch just as the hero shooter genre saw one of its biggest failures in Concord.
However, they got the wrong kind of excitement in the office when nine employees were arrested in connection with a possible money laundering scheme. According to Chinese news outlet Leifeng, executive Xiang Lang and several other now former employees allegedly laundered money through contracts made with up to 28 different business partners.
These employees were detained as the site for their weekly meeting was moved from Guangzhou to Hangzhou, with authorities intervening and detaining them at the new meeting spot in a sting operation.
And, though details are sparse due to this being an ongoing investigation, the amount allegedly laundered could be up to $1B Chinese Yuan, or $139M USD. This money was part of existing business dealings in the company that totaled up to around $2B Yuan, so the actual amount won’t be determined until the investigation has concluded.
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As of now, Marvel Rivals’ release schedule has been unaffected by this sting operation and some executives at the company being arrested. They revealed Moon Knight ahead of launch as a brand new character that wasn’t playable in the beta, and the game is still set to release on December 6, 2024.
Marvel Rivals isn’t the only game NetEase have worked on, either. While most of the company’s games are much bigger in China and other countries in Asia than they are in the US, games like Naraka: Bladepoint, Once Human, and Diablo Immortal have done well in Western markets.
They even have a Dead by Daylight-esque Tom and Jerry mobile gacha game that has an actual esports scene. Yes, seriously, there are Tom and Jerry esports.
It remains to be seen whether or not this controversy affects Marvel Rivals and NetEase as a whole going forward beyond the employees that have already been let go from the company.
