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 lots of ideas.

Dataminers have been uncovering a treasure trove of potential future characters hidden within Marvel Rivals' code. While some predictions, like the Fantastic Four's addition, proved accurate, the sheer volume of datamined names sparked speculation: were some intentionally misleading?

The community remains divided on the authenticity of these leaked characters. To settle the debate, we directly questioned Marvel Rivals producer Weicong Wu and Marvel Games executive producer Danny Koo about the possibility of a deliberate "troll." While they denied any intentional misdirection, they advised caution in interpreting the code's contents.

Wu explained that the extensive character design process—involving concepts, prototypes, and development—leaves traces in the code. These remnants might represent explored directions, some of which may, or may not, materialize in future updates. The ultimate decision hinges on player expectations and desired gameplay experiences.

Koo likened the situation to finding a discarded notebook filled with brainstorming notes, lacking context for the reader. He emphasized the team's preference for focusing on game development rather than elaborate pranks. Their response was a clear "No" to the intentional trolling question.

The conversation also shed light on the character selection process. Updates are planned roughly a year in advance, maintaining a consistent release of new heroes every six weeks. NetEase prioritizes balancing the roster, identifying character types and skill sets needed to maintain variety and address existing weaknesses or power imbalances. Their strategy emphasizes adding new characters over extensively tweaking existing ones.

Proposed characters are then presented to Marvel Games, factoring in community interest and aligning with broader Marvel plans, such as upcoming films or comic storylines. The abundance of names in the code simply reflects NetEase's ongoing ideation process.

Marvel Rivals continues to impress, with the recent addition of the Fantastic Four and the upcoming arrival of the Human Torch and The Thing on February 21st. The game's success is further bolstered by its consistent updates and balanced gameplay. We also discussed the potential for a Nintendo Switch 2 release, detailed in a separate article.