Marvel Rivals Bot Conspiracy Unveiled

While *Marvel Rivals* continues to dominate the charts on Steam and Twitch, a growing concern among fans has cast a shadow over their experience with NetEase Games’ new hero shooter: the presence of bots.

Launched in December to widespread acclaim, *Marvel Rivals* has captivated players with its stylish gameplay and the creative use of iconic characters such as Spider-Man, Wolverine, and the recently added Fantastic Four. The game has attracted hundreds of thousands of daily players on Steam alone, according to SteamDB. Despite its success and ability to avoid many common pitfalls in the hero shooter genre, the community has been vocal about their concerns regarding the implementation of AI enemies in several game modes.

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

Marvel Rivals Tier List: Best Heroes

Like other multiplayer games released over the last 15 years, *Marvel Rivals* includes practice modes where players face off against AI-controlled opponents, commonly known as “bots.” These modes allow players to adjust the difficulty to their preference, making them excellent for skill improvement or taking a break from the intensity of human-versus-human matches. However, the controversy arises from the alleged presence of bots in the game's standard Quickplay matches.

Over the past few weeks, social media has been inundated with posts from players suspecting they are being matched against low-level bots, with some even noticing their teammates being replaced by AI. The prevailing theory is that *Marvel Rivals* might deploy bots in matches after a player experiences several losses, aiming to boost morale and reduce queue times. Yet, NetEase has provided little to no transparency on this matter, and despite requests for comment from IGN, the company has remained silent.

Players have shared numerous signs to identify potential bot matches, including repetitive in-game behavior, similarly structured teammate names (such as all capital letters or split names), and most notably, every enemy's career profile being labeled "restricted."

Another Reddit user expressed frustration, stating, "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. 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 is not new, with similar discussions in games like Fortnite. In *Marvel Rivals*, suggestions range from adding an option to toggle bot matches on or off to removing the feature entirely. Some players appreciate occasional bot matches as they provide an opportunity to complete specific hero achievements. Reddit user ciaranxy, who began questioning their matches shortly after launch, encouraged the community to investigate further, stating, "So, you can choose to believe this is an issue or not – that is your CHOICE. But – for everyone else – when you press Quickplay, NetEase does not give you a choice."

If you’ve spent more than a few hours playing *Marvel Rivals* since its launch, chances are you've encountered one of these questionable lobbies. Personally, I've run into at least one suspicious Quickplay match displaying the warning signs mentioned by players, such as stiff player movement, similar names, and restricted profiles across the board. We have reached out to NetEase for clarification on these matches and the alleged use of bots in *Marvel Rivals*.

While the community continues to delve into the bot issue, you can learn more about how some Marvel Rivals players are using the Invisible Woman to literally stop bots in their tracks. Regardless of how this controversy unfolds, NetEase is looking forward to a promising 2025, starting with the Fantastic Four in Season 1: Eternal Night Falls. Creative director Guangyun Chen has promised to deliver at least one new hero every half-season, and later this month, fans can expect a new skin in the form of Peter Parker’s Advanced Suit 2.0 from Marvel’s Spider-Man.