Highlights
- NetEase Games appears to have cut QA roles, impacting senior and managerial staff.
- The layoffs follow multiple overseas studio closures as part of broader restructuring.
- Nearly 1K gaming jobs have been lost globally in 2026.
NetEase Games appears to have laid off several employees at its Montreal studio, with the reductions mainly affecting quality assurance (QA) staff, according to former employees’ LinkedIn posts as collated by Game Developer. The layoffs appear to have taken place around the turn of the year and have not been formally confirmed by the company.
Posts shared on LinkedIn over the past week indicate that both senior and managerial QA roles were impacted. “Last week I was impacted by the layoffs at NetEase and my time with them has come to an end,” wrote QA project manager Scott Killingsworth.
Senior QA lead Stefano Magnabosco separately described being affected by the “recent lay-offs” at NetEase Games Montréal.
NetEase Games Montreal Layoffs Follow Multiple Studio Closures
In February 2025, NetEase stated it would continue supporting its international studios after reports that hundreds of employees had been laid off across the business. The studio also noted that some structural changes would be necessary to drive growth.
Since then, the company has closed or exited several studios outside China. These include Texas-based T-Minus Zero Entertainment, founded in 2023 by BioWare veteran Rich Vogel. The studio was later shut down and acquired in November 2025 by a small group of former leaders, and is now led by CEO Zachary Beaudoin.
Other closures include the Canadian subsidiary Bad Brain Game Studios, led by Watch Dogs veteran Sean Crooks, and Fantastic Pixel Castle, which had been developing a AAA MMO (massively multiplayer online game) codenamed “Ghost” under the NetEase banner.
Senior QA specialist Pavlina Rahneva referred to the Montreal cuts as “another round of layoffs,” stating that her time at NetEase Games had come to an end.
The Montreal reductions add to mounting job losses across the global games industry, where nearly 1K roles have already been cut in 2026. This underscores continued instability across development and support teams worldwide.
