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

Marvel Rivals developers address datamining rumors: no intentional trolling, just a lot of ideas.

Dataminers recently unearthed a treasure trove of potential future characters within Marvel Rivals' code, sparking debate about their authenticity. Some speculated the developers intentionally included fake names to mislead the community.

We directly questioned Marvel Rivals producer Weicong Wu and Marvel Games executive producer Danny Koo about this "elaborate troll" theory. While they denied any intentional deception, they acknowledged the presence of leftover code from various design explorations. Wu explained that character design involves extensive concept art, prototyping, and development, leaving traces in the code that may or may not reflect future plans. Koo likened the situation to finding a discarded notebook filled with brainstorming notes. The developers emphasized their focus on game development over elaborate pranks. Koo stated definitively, "No. We would rather spend our time developing the actual game."

The conversation also shed light on the character selection process. Updates are planned roughly a year in advance, aiming for a new character release every six weeks. NetEase prioritizes balancing the roster and adding variety, creating a list of potential additions based on gameplay needs. This list is then reviewed by Marvel Games, considering community interest and upcoming Marvel projects (films, comics) for potential synergy. The abundance of names in the code simply reflects NetEase's ongoing ideation process.

Marvel Rivals continues to impress, with the upcoming addition of Human Torch and The Thing on February 21st. The game's success and consistent updates highlight the developers' dedication to providing a rich and evolving player experience. A potential Nintendo Switch 2 release is also under consideration.