Marvel Rivals Bot Conspiracy Unveiled

As Marvel Rivals continues to dominate the Steam and Twitch charts, a growing concern among fans is casting a shadow over their experience with NetEase Games' latest hero shooter: the presence of bots. Launched in December, Marvel Rivals quickly garnered critical acclaim and fan praise for its engaging style and innovative use of iconic characters such as Spider-Man, Wolverine, and the newly introduced Fantastic Four. With hundreds of thousands of daily players on Steam alone (via SteamDB), the game has successfully avoided many common pitfalls in the competitive multiplayer genre. However, the integration of AI enemies in various game modes has sparked weeks of discussion and discontent among the player base.

"I know people may feel differently but playing against bots in (Quickplay) just doesn’t feel good at all to me," one Reddit user commented. "AI should be in AI modes and that’s it."

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Similar to other multiplayer titles released in the past 15 years, Marvel Rivals includes practice modes where players can hone their skills against AI-driven "bots." These modes allow players to adjust the difficulty to their preference, making them essential for skill improvement or a break from the intensity of human-versus-human matches. However, the issue arises with reports of bots appearing in standard Quickplay matches, which are meant to be purely player-versus-player experiences.

Social media has been abuzz for weeks with players expressing concerns about being matched against low-level bot players, and occasionally, having teammates replaced by bots. Theories suggest that the game might deploy bots to prevent players from becoming too discouraged after consecutive losses, or to reduce wait times for Quickplay matches. However, NetEase has remained silent on the matter, offering no clarity on whether bots are indeed present in these matches (IGN has requested comment).

Players have tried to identify bots by observing repetitive in-game behaviors, similar naming patterns among teammates, and restricted career profiles of opponents. "The fact that you can even get bot games after wins and that the game doesn't tell you that you're against bots is what gets me about this," another Reddit user stated. "You don't want to learn new heroes in comp because people will understandably rage at you for doing that, but if you try to learn a hero in (Quickplay) you now have to second guess if you actually are getting any better on that hero or if the game is just making you think you are because it's handing you free wins in the form of bots."

The debate over bots in multiplayer games isn't new, with similar discussions in games like Fortnite. In the case of Marvel Rivals, some players advocate for an option to toggle bot matches on or off, while others demand their complete removal. A subset of the community appreciates bot lobbies as a chance to achieve specific hero milestones. Reddit user ciaranxy, questioning the presence of bots shortly after launch, urged the community to stay vigilant. "So, you can choose to believe this is an issue or not – that is your CHOICE," ciaranxy wrote. "But – for everyone else – when you press Quickplay, NetEase does not give you a choice."

If you've spent significant time with Marvel Rivals since its launch, you may have encountered one of these dubious lobbies, characterized by stiff player movements, uniform naming conventions, and multiple restricted profiles. We've reached out to NetEase for further clarification on these matches and the alleged use of bots in Marvel Rivals.

As players continue to investigate the bot situation, some are finding innovative ways to tackle this issue, such as using Invisible Woman to counter bots effectively (learn more here). Regardless of how NetEase addresses this controversy, the company is looking ahead to a promising 2025, starting with the introduction of the Fantastic Four in Season 1: Eternal Night Falls (details here). Creative director Guangyun Chen has committed to introducing at least one new hero every half-season, and later this month, fans can look forward to acquiring Peter Parker’s Advanced Suit 2.0 from Marvel’s Spider-Man (preview here).