Marvel Rivals' Popularity Shadowed by Bot Concerns
Despite topping Steam and Twitch charts, Marvel Rivals, NetEase Games' hero shooter, faces growing player suspicion regarding the prevalence of bots in its matches. The game, lauded for its style and iconic Marvel characters like Spider-Man and Wolverine, boasts a substantial player base. However, weeks after launch, a significant portion of the community expresses concern over AI opponents appearing in standard Quickplay matches, not just the designated practice modes.
Reddit users have voiced frustration, stating that encountering bots in Quickplay diminishes the experience and makes skill assessment difficult. The practice modes, offering adjustable AI difficulty, are acknowledged as useful training tools, but the presence of suspected bots in Quickplay is a point of contention.
The suspected bot matches seem to occur after multiple losses, potentially designed to prevent player frustration and maintain quick queue times. However, NetEase's lack of transparency on this issue fuels speculation. Players have identified potential indicators of bot matches, including repetitive and unusual in-game behavior, similarly structured player names (often all-caps single words or name fragments), and enemy profiles labeled "restricted."
This isn't a new phenomenon in online gaming; similar debates have surrounded titles like Fortnite for years. Marvel Rivals players are divided in their response, with some advocating for a toggle to enable or disable bot matches, others demanding their complete removal, and a smaller group accepting them as opportunities for achievement completion.
One Reddit user, ciaranxy, highlighted the lack of player choice in encountering these matches. The author confirms personally encountering a suspicious Quickplay match exhibiting many of the reported red flags. NetEase has yet to publicly address these concerns.
Despite this controversy, NetEase's future plans for Marvel Rivals remain ambitious, including the upcoming Fantastic Four content in Season 1 and a promise of new heroes every half-season. A new Spider-Man skin is also on the horizon. The game's long-term success, however, may depend on addressing the ongoing concerns regarding bot implementation.
