Marvel Rivals Dev Quashes Dataminer Claims

Marvel Rivals dataminers suspect the developers are playfully misleading them with lists of potential future characters hidden within the game's code. However, NetEase and Marvel maintain they have more pressing priorities—namely, the ongoing development of the game itself.

Last month, dataminers began revealing names of potential future heroes discovered in Marvel Rivals' code. The initial excitement following the accurate prediction of the Fantastic Four's addition quickly shifted to speculation that some names were deliberately included to misdirect dataminers.

Currently, the community remains divided on the authenticity of the datamined characters.

We recently questioned Marvel Rivals producer Weicong Wu and Marvel Games executive producer Danny Koo about this potential "elaborate troll." While denying any intentional deception, they advised caution when interpreting the code's contents. Wu explained, "We don't recommend adjusting game files. Each character's design involves a complex process—concepts, trials, prototypes, and development. Some information might remain in the code, representing explored directions that may or may not appear in future plans. Their inclusion depends on the gameplay experience players expect."

Koo added, "A ten-year plan would be ideal, but the team experiments with various play styles and heroes. It's like finding a discarded notebook filled with brainstorming notes." When directly asked about deliberate trolling, Koo stated, "No. We prefer to focus on developing the game."

The process of adding characters to Marvel Rivals involves roughly a year of planning, maintaining a release schedule of approximately one new character every six weeks. NetEase prioritizes balancing the game's roster by considering necessary character types and skill sets. Wu explained that their strategy emphasizes adding new characters and experiences over extensively adjusting existing ones, aiming to maintain freshness, address weaknesses, and counter strong characters.

After NetEase generates a list of potential additions, they collaborate with Marvel Games on initial designs. Community enthusiasm and upcoming Marvel projects (films, comics) also influence the final decision. This explains the extensive list of heroes in the code—a reflection of NetEase's ongoing ideation process.

Marvel Rivals enjoyed a successful launch, and each new character enhances the game. The Human Torch and The Thing are slated to join the roster on February 21st. We also discussed the possibility of a Nintendo Switch 2 release, details of which can be found [here].