Marvel Rivals developers address datamining rumors: no intentional trolling, just a lot of ideas.
Dataminers have been uncovering a treasure trove of potential future characters within Marvel Rivals' code, sparking debate about the authenticity of these finds. While some early predictions proved accurate (like the Fantastic Four's addition), the sheer volume of datamined names led to speculation that developers were intentionally planting false leads.
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 misleading, they acknowledged the presence of leftover code from various design explorations. Wu explained that character design involves extensive concept work, prototypes, and development, leaving traces in the code that may or may not represent future plans. The ultimate inclusion of a character hinges on player feedback and maintaining balanced gameplay.
Koo likened the situation to finding a discarded notebook filled with brainstorming notes, emphasizing that the team experiments extensively with different character designs and play styles. He stated plainly, "We would rather spend our time developing the actual game."
The selection process for new characters, they revealed, involves a year-long planning horizon, aiming for a new character release every six weeks. NetEase prioritizes balancing the roster, identifying needed character types and skill sets to add variety and address existing weaknesses or power imbalances. This is achieved more through new additions than through constant tweaking of existing characters.
NetEase then presents its suggestions to Marvel Games, considering community interest and aligning with Marvel's broader plans (films, comics, etc.) to make final decisions. This process explains the abundance of names in the code—a reflection of NetEase's ongoing brainstorming and exploration of possibilities.
Marvel Rivals continues to impress, with the Human Torch and The Thing slated to join the roster on February 21st. The conversation also touched upon the potential for a Nintendo Switch 2 release (details available in a separate article). In short, while the datamined characters offer intriguing possibilities, players should treat them with a degree of skepticism.
