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

Dataminers of Marvel Rivals have been buzzing with excitement over potential future characters hidden within the game's code. However, recent rumors suggest that NetEase and Marvel might be playfully misleading these enthusiasts with fake names. This speculation arose after the initial excitement over datamined heroes, some of which were quickly confirmed with the official announcement of the Fantastic Four. As the list of potential characters grew, so did the skepticism about their authenticity.

The community remains divided on the validity of these datamined characters. In a recent interview, we had the chance to speak directly with Marvel Rivals producer Weicong Wu and Marvel Games executive producer Danny Koo about these rumors. Both emphasized that their focus is on game development, not on misleading the community. Wu stated, "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 about trolling the community, Koo firmly replied, "No. We would rather spend our time developing the actual game."

During our conversation, we also delved into how characters are selected for inclusion in Marvel Rivals. Wu and Koo explained that the team plans updates about a year in advance, aiming to add new characters every month and a half. The process involves identifying the type of character and skillset needed to maintain game balance and variety. NetEase compiles a list of potential additions, focusing on adding new experiences rather than fine-tuning existing characters. These suggestions are then presented to Marvel Games, where initial designs are developed. The final decision considers community feedback and upcoming Marvel projects, such as films or comic arcs, ensuring the character fits well within the broader Marvel universe.

This approach explains the presence of numerous heroes in the game's code, as NetEase continuously explores various ideas. Marvel Rivals has been well-received since its launch, and the addition of new characters like the Human Torch and The Thing, set to join on February 21, continues to enhance the game's appeal. Additionally, Wu and Koo touched on the possibility of a Nintendo Switch 2 release for Marvel Rivals, which you can read more about [here](#).