NetEase Games Montréal Lays Off QA Team, Former Employees Say

Multiple former employees have posted on LinkedIn that they were laid off from NetEase Games Montréal, with the departures concentrated among quality assurance staff and QA leadership. The posts, which surfaced in late January 2026, describe involuntary exits that sources say occurred around the turn of the year.

Among those who publicly confirmed they were affected are Scott Killingsworth, identified as a QA project manager, Stefano Magnabosco, identified as a senior QA lead, and Pavlina Rahneva, identified as a senior QA specialist. Killingsworth wrote on LinkedIn, "Last week I was impacted by the layoffs at NetEase and my time with them has come to an end. It was a great experience and I'm thankful I was able to grow as I did. Now it's time to look forward and continue that growth." Magnabosco posted, "Unfortunately I have been affected by the recent lay-offs at NetEase Games Montréal and are back on the market for some new and exciting ventures." Rahneva described the cuts as "another round of layoffs," writing, "Unfortunately, I have been affected by another round of layoffs, and my time at NetEase Games has come to an end. It was an incredible opportunity and pleasure working with everyone on the team, and a very rewarding experience throughout which I learned a lot, grew professionally, and had the opportunity to collaborate with many talented folks!"

Reports do not provide a precise headcount for Montréal; outlets and affected staff describe the scale as "several," "multiple," or "a number" of roles. The posts and collated reporting indicate the layoffs primarily impacted QA roles, including senior and managerial staff, but do not confirm whether other departments were affected.

NetEase Games Montréal has not issued a formal public statement on these specific layoffs. Reporters say they reached out to NetEase for comment. The reported Montreal cuts sit against a backdrop of earlier international restructuring at NetEase: the company issued a statement in February 2025 saying it would continue to support its international studios while noting that structural changes would be necessary to drive growth. Late-2025 moves included the closure or exit of several NetEase-linked studios, including a Texas studio founded by a BioWare veteran that was later acquired by former leaders, a Canadian subsidiary led by a Watch Dogs veteran, and another studio that had been developing a triple-A MMO codenamed "Ghost."

For developers, testers, and players, concentration of QA departures matters because it can affect bug triage, regression testing capacity, and build stability for ongoing projects. For Montreal-area professionals, the LinkedIn posts are a prompt to update profiles, activate networks, and watch for openings as affected staff seek new roles. Industry-wide context from the reporting notes that nearly 1,000 developer jobs have reportedly been cut worldwide so far in 2026, underscoring continued volatility in studio staffing.

Next steps are straightforward: monitor for an official company response, verify LinkedIn posts and employment histories when possible, and track whether further details emerge about which projects or teams will be impacted. That follow-up will determine whether these departures are an isolated QA downsizing or part of a broader restructuring across NetEase’s international footprint.