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

Dataminers digging through the code of Marvel Rivals believe the developers are playing a mischievous game, planting fake character names to throw them off the scent. However, NetEase and Marvel maintain they have more pressing matters – namely, actually developing the game.

Last month, datamined character lists initially seemed accurate, with some predictions, like the Fantastic Four's arrival, proving true. But as the list grew, suspicions arose: were some names intentionally misleading? The community remains divided on the authenticity of these leaked characters.

We directly questioned Marvel Rivals producer Weicong Wu and Marvel Games executive producer Danny Koo about this alleged "troll." While denying any deliberate deception, they cautioned against taking the datamined names at face value. Wu explained that the character design process is complex, involving numerous concepts, prototypes, and development stages. Leftover data in the code might simply reflect explored possibilities, not necessarily future additions. The ultimate inclusion depends heavily on player expectations and desired gameplay experiences.

Koo added a colorful analogy: "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." He directly refuted the trolling accusation, stating, "No. We would rather spend our time developing the actual game."

Our conversation also delved into the character selection process. Updates are planned roughly a year in advance, maintaining a roughly six-week cadence of new character releases. NetEase prioritizes balancing the roster, considering necessary skillsets and character types to maintain variety. Their strategy focuses less on meticulously tweaking existing characters and more on introducing fresh characters and experiences to address weaknesses, counter strong characters, or support underperforming teams.

These suggestions are then presented to Marvel Games, incorporating community feedback and aligning with Marvel's broader plans, such as upcoming films or comic arcs. This explains the extensive list of characters in the code – a reflection of NetEase's ongoing brainstorming and exploration.

Marvel Rivals launched successfully, and each new addition enhances the game. The Human Torch and The Thing are the latest heroes joining the roster on February 21st. We also discussed the possibility of a Nintendo Switch 2 release for Marvel Rivals – details can be found here [ttpp].