Dataminers exploring the code of Marvel Rivals have stumbled upon lists of potential future characters, sparking speculation that the developers might be playfully misleading them. However, both NetEase and Marvel have dismissed these rumors, emphasizing their focus on developing the game rather than engaging in pranks.
The controversy began last month when dataminers shared names of potential future heroes, some of which were quickly confirmed with the official announcement of the Fantastic Four. Yet, as the list expanded, the community started to suspect that some names might be decoys planted by the developers to throw dataminers off the trail. The debate continues within the community about which, if any, of these datamined characters will actually make it into the game.
In a recent interview, Marvel Rivals producer Weicong Wu and Marvel Games executive producer Danny Koo addressed these speculations. Wu clarified, "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 trolling the community, Koo firmly stated, "No. We would rather spend our time developing the actual game."
During the same discussion, Wu and Koo explained the process of selecting new characters for Marvel Rivals. They plan updates approximately a year in advance, aiming to introduce new characters every month and a half. NetEase first assesses the type of character and skillset needed to maintain game balance and add variety to the roster. They then compile a list of potential additions, focusing on adding new characters and experiences rather than extensively tweaking existing ones. This approach helps keep the game fresh, supports weaker characters with new team abilities, and counters overly strong ones.
After creating a list of possibilities, NetEase collaborates with Marvel Games to develop initial designs. They consider community excitement and upcoming Marvel projects, such as films or comic arcs, to finalize their choices. This comprehensive process explains the presence of numerous hero names in the game's code, as NetEase continuously explores various ideas.
Marvel Rivals has been well-received since its launch, with each new character enhancing the game's appeal. The Human Torch and The Thing are set to join the roster on February 21. Additionally, Wu and Koo discussed the potential for a Nintendo Switch 2 release, which you can read more about [ttpp].
