Dataminers of Marvel Rivals have been buzzing with excitement and speculation after discovering lists of potential future characters hidden within the game's code. However, both NetEase and Marvel have clarified that they are more focused on developing the game than engaging in any form of trolling.
Last month, dataminers began sharing names of potential future heroes, some of which were quickly confirmed when the Fantastic Four were officially announced for the game. As the list of datamined heroes grew, a rumor spread within the community suggesting that some names might be fake, deliberately planted by developers to mislead dataminers. This has led to ongoing debates among fans about which, if any, of the datamined characters are genuinely in development.
In a recent interview, we had the chance to ask Marvel Rivals producer Weicong Wu and Marvel Games executive producer Danny Koo about these rumors. Wu emphasized that the development process for each character is complex, involving numerous concepts, trials, and prototypes. He noted that any information found in the code could be from past experiments that may or may not materialize into future content. 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 to this by likening the situation to finding a notebook of scratch work left behind, emphasizing that the information lacks context. When asked directly if they were trolling dataminers, Koo responded, "No. We would rather spend our time developing the actual game."
During the same conversation, Wu and Koo explained the process of selecting new characters for Marvel Rivals. They revealed that the team plans updates approximately a year in advance and aims to introduce new characters every month and a half. The selection process involves balancing the game and adding variety to the roster. NetEase considers what type of character and skillset is needed, then compiles a list of potential additions. Wu highlighted that their strategy focuses on adding new characters and experiences rather than extensively tweaking existing ones to maintain game balance and freshness.
After generating a list of possibilities, NetEase collaborates with Marvel Games to develop initial designs. They also consider community excitement and upcoming Marvel projects, such as films or comic arcs, to finalize their decisions. This explains the presence of numerous character names 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 discussed the potential for a Nintendo Switch 2 release, which you can read more about [ttpp].
