Marvel Rivals Dev Clarifies: Focus on Game Development, Not Trolling Dataminers

Dataminers of Marvel Rivals have recently uncovered lists of potential future characters embedded within the game's code, sparking speculation that the developers at NetEase and Marvel might be engaging in a playful deception. However, both NetEase and Marvel have clarified that their focus is firmly on developing the game rather than misleading the community.

Last month, the excitement began when dataminers started sharing names of potential heroes, with some like the Fantastic Four being swiftly confirmed as additions to the game. As the list of datamined characters grew, so did the rumors that some of these names might be fake, strategically placed by developers to throw off dataminers.

The Marvel Rivals community remains divided on the authenticity of these datamined characters. To address these speculations, we had the chance to speak directly with Marvel Rivals producer Weicong Wu and Marvel Games executive producer Danny Koo. They emphasized that no pranks are at play, though they advised taking the datamined names with a grain of salt.

Wu explained, "So firstly we want to say that we don't recommend anybody to make adjustments to the files [of the game]. Also, you can see that for each character's design actually we come through a very complicated process and we make a lot of concepts, trials, prototypes, development, et cetera. So there could be some information left in the code, and it might mean that we have tried those directions and they may appear or may not appear in our future plans. And whether or not they will appear in our future pipeline is highly depending on what kind of gameplay experience our players would expect in our game."

Koo added, "If I could have a ten-year plan, it'd be great. But the team experimented with a lot of play styles, heroes. It was like there's someone doing scratch paperwork and then just left a notebook there, and someone [a dataminer] decided to open it with no context."

When directly asked if they were intentionally misleading dataminers, Koo responded, "No. We would rather spend our time developing the actual game."

In our conversation, we also delved into the process of selecting new characters for Marvel Rivals. Wu and Koo revealed that updates are planned approximately a year in advance, with new characters being introduced every month and a half. The selection process involves assessing the game's balance and variety, creating a list of potential additions. NetEase focuses on adding fresh characters and experiences to maintain game balance, rather than extensively tweaking existing ones.

Once a list is compiled, NetEase collaborates with Marvel Games to develop initial designs, considering community feedback and upcoming Marvel projects across different media. This comprehensive approach explains the presence of numerous hero names in the game's code, as NetEase constantly explores various ideas.

Marvel Rivals has been well-received since its launch, with new characters like the Human Torch and The Thing set to join the roster on February 21, further enhancing the game's appeal. Additionally, discussions with Wu and Koo touched on the potential for a Nintendo Switch 2 release, details of which can be found here.