Marvel Rivals Dev: Focus on Game Development, Not Trolling Miners

Marvel Rivals developers deny intentionally misleading dataminers, despite a plethora of potential characters found in the game's code. Dataminers initially celebrated uncovering future heroes, with some predictions proving accurate (like the Fantastic Four). However, the sheer volume of discovered names sparked speculation that some were intentionally planted as red herrings.

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 alleged "troll." While they denied any intentional deception, they advised caution when interpreting the code's contents.

Wu explained that the extensive character design process involves numerous concepts, prototypes, and trials, leaving remnants in the code. These remnants don't necessarily reflect future plans, but rather explored possibilities. The final decision depends heavily on player feedback and desired gameplay experiences.

Koo likened the situation to finding a discarded notebook filled with brainstorming notes, lacking context. He emphasized that the team prioritizes game development over elaborate pranks. He stated plainly, "No. We would rather spend our time developing the actual game."

The character selection process, they revealed, involves a year-long planning horizon, aiming for a new character release every six weeks. NetEase assesses roster balance and variety, proposing potential characters based on needed skillsets. This list is then presented to Marvel Games, factoring in community interest and upcoming Marvel projects (films, comics). This explains the abundance of names in the code – a reflection of NetEase's ongoing ideation.

Marvel Rivals' success continues, with the Human Torch and The Thing slated for release on February 21st. The conversation also touched upon a potential Nintendo Switch 2 release (details available in a separate article).