Marvel Rivals has been a huge hit for NetEase. The Chinese publisher recently reported the free-to-play hero shooter had over 40 million players. But the Overwatch clone was almost canceled over the licensing fees the company would owe to Disney for using its popular comic book characters.

Marvels Rivals, which has been a huge success for publisher NetEase since its launch last year, reportedly almost didn't make it to release. It's claimed the company considered cancelling the project because its CEO objected to paying Disney for use of its characters.

Following an extremely sudden cut to the Marvel Rivals development team, it appears NetEase is going through even larger internal discussions about releasing an

The midseason patch also brings a new Central Park map and balance adjustments designed to lower sustain via strategist ultimates.

The Human Torch is most effective in claiming space with area-of-effect attacks, able to connect up to four points on the field to create a firewall that does hefty damage over time to anyone within the perimeter.

NetEase (NTES) stock is up Friday after the Marvel Rivals developer introduced new changes to Season 1 of the popular free-to-play hero shooter