Dataminers of Marvel Rivals have stirred up a storm by uncovering lists of potential future characters hidden within the game's code, sparking speculation that NetEase and Marvel might be playfully trolling them. However, both NetEase and Marvel have clarified that their focus remains squarely on enhancing the game itself, not on pranking the community.
Last month, the datamining community began sharing names of potential future heroes, with some quickly confirmed as real when the Fantastic Four were officially announced. Yet, as more names surfaced, a rumor spread that some might be fake, intentionally placed by developers to mislead dataminers. This has led to ongoing debates among players about the authenticity of these datamined characters.
In a recent interview, Marvel Rivals producer Weicong Wu and Marvel Games executive producer Danny Koo addressed these rumors head-on. Wu emphasized the complexity of character design, explaining that various concepts and prototypes are developed, which might leave traces in the code. He noted that these could represent past explorations that may or may not materialize in future updates, depending on player expectations and gameplay experiences.
Koo likened the situation to someone leaving a notebook of ideas behind, which dataminers then interpret without context. When directly asked if they were trolling, Koo firmly stated, "No. We would rather spend our time developing the actual game."
The discussion also shed light on how new characters are selected for Marvel Rivals. The team plans updates about a year in advance, aiming to introduce new characters every month and a half. NetEase focuses on balancing the game by adding new characters that bring variety and address existing gameplay dynamics, rather than heavily tweaking current ones. After compiling a list of potential additions, they collaborate with Marvel Games on initial designs, considering community excitement and upcoming Marvel projects to finalize their choices.
This approach explains the presence of numerous hero names in the code, as NetEase continuously explores various ideas. Marvel Rivals has been well-received since its launch, and the addition of new characters like the Human Torch and The Thing, set to join on February 21, continues to enhance the game's appeal. Additionally, Wu and Koo discussed the potential for a Nintendo Switch 2 release, which you can read more about [ttpp].
