Marvel Rivals Dev Says They're Not Trolling Dataminers - 'We'd Rather Spend Our Time Developing the Game'

Marvel Rivals dataminers suspect developers are playfully misleading them with lists of potential future characters hidden within the game's code. However, NetEase and Marvel maintain they're focused on game development, not elaborate pranks.

Last month, dataminers revealed potential heroes from the game's code, some of which were quickly confirmed with the Fantastic Four announcement. However, speculation arose that some names were intentionally misleading. The community remains divided on the authenticity of these datamined characters.

We directly questioned Marvel Rivals producer Weicong Wu and Marvel Games executive producer Danny Koo about this supposed "troll." While denying any deliberate deception, they advised caution regarding the code's contents. Wu explained that the development process involves numerous concepts, prototypes, and trials, leaving traces in the code. The inclusion of these characters in future updates depends entirely on player feedback and desired gameplay experiences. Koo likened the situation to finding an uncontextualized notebook of brainstorming ideas. He emphasized their focus on game development over elaborate pranks.

Our conversation also covered character selection for Marvel Rivals. Updates are planned roughly a year in advance, aiming to add new characters every six weeks. NetEase prioritizes balancing the game by considering character types and skill sets, aiming to add variety and address existing roster weaknesses. This involves adding new characters rather than heavily modifying existing ones. NetEase proposes potential additions to Marvel Games, considering community interest and aligning with Marvel's broader plans (films, comics). This explains the extensive list of heroes in the code – a reflection of NetEase's ongoing brainstorming.

Marvel Rivals launched successfully and continues to improve with each character addition. The Human Torch and The Thing are the latest additions, arriving February 21st. We also discussed a potential Nintendo Switch 2 release (details available elsewhere).