Marvel Rivals is a third-person shooter game that has become a worldwide phenomenon in just a few short months. Since its release in December of last year, Marvel Rivals has dethroned its competitor in Overwatch 2 and took the world by storm. Looking into the details, it’s no wonder why this game has become such a hit so quickly. 

A well-made hero based shooter-especially a free to play one-is tough to do, and NetEase games has succeeded wildly with Marvel Rivals. Rivals combines a fresh art style, addicting core gameplay loop, and high skill ceiling all into one. The catalyst for this already extremely promising formula is the inclusion of the Marvel intellectual property itself. There isn’t a better way to introduce players to a game than showing them their favorite superheroes; after the unprecedented success of the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the last decade, many of these characters are mainstream. I can’t count the number of times I’ve heard of someone downloading Rivals just to play as their favorite character, and the justice each character is shown in this game is truly impressive.

It’s clear that the developers over at NetEase Games have an immense passion and love for these Marvel characters. The designs are exciting and new while still staying faithful to the original ones, and every character’s kit is unique and represents their abilities well. On top of this, the sheer amount of variety of characters in the game is nearly unrivaled. With a total of 35 unique characters and more always on the way, there’s a Marvel hero or villain that will match any player’s playstyle. It’s mind-boggling how a game that has Spider-Man swinging around the map at the same time as Dr. Strange creating portals for a shortcut is a game that functions, let alone thrives at the level Rivals does. What NetEase has done, specifically from a gameplay perspective, is fantastic. Characters are balanced and fair, abilities are learned easily and hard to master. There are barely any maps in the game and yet I never find myself getting bored with how dynamic they are, changing mid-game after certain points or including destructible terrain to forge your own path. Without a doubt, NetEase has poured all of its love and passion into making a faithful and fun gaming experience for any fans that touch Marvel Rivals. Unfortunately, there’s a catch that always seems to get in the way of creating art: the game needs to make money.

Marvel Rivals is free to download and play. That’s great. The game is easily accessible for anybody who wants to try it out. As a consequence, there are purchasable cosmetics and in-game currency. Even on this front, I would argue NetEase has done a phenomenal job. There aren’t any advertisements thrown in your face as you play, and while the prices aren’t…cheap, they aren’t ridiculous by any means. The challenge of being a live-service game also seems to be no problem for NetEase. On numerous occasions the developers have listened to feedback from the community and made changes accordingly, taking almost no time at all. There are constant bug fixes and patch notes to keep the game balanced and working, and new content is added regularly to keep the game fresh and exciting. On the surface level, this all sounds perfect. And, frankly, if you’re a player who sinks an hour or two a week into the game just to kill a bit of time, the game is probably perfect. The problem lies in the way NetEase treats its most loyal players. 

Here’s the thing: any online-only game is going to have a ranked mode. Marvel Rivals is no exception. Most ranked modes have skill-based matchmaking so that you have a fair fight. Again, Rivals is no exception. What most games don’t have, however, is a matchmaking process that is designed to keep players in an infinite loop of winning and losing. The matchmaking system in Marvel Rivals is actively malicious. The game doesn’t even try to hide it. Even in unranked, casual mode, it is present. If you lose two or three games in a row, you get thrown into a game where the enemy team is entirely bots so that you can get an easy win. The game doesn’t tell you when it gives you a bot lobby, either. It takes looking at their clearly fake usernames closely and checking the enemy team’s profiles just to see that conveniently, they’re all private. Now, this is forgivable. Sometimes it’s nice to have a game where you can unwind and just destroy the enemy team. I’ve had times where I welcome a bot game just because I’m tired of losing. And, thankfully, there aren’t any bots in ranked mode whatsoever. Something much worse was added to ranked mode instead. 

To gain a rank in Marvel Rivals, one has to accumulate 100 points of their rank, before moving up a peg and resetting their score to zero. It’s common to gain around 30 points per win, and to lose around 20 per loss. What this often ends up doing is putting a player at just below 100 points to rank up. “Perfect!” You think. “I only need one more win. And, even if I lose, I can win the next game and rank up from that.” The game knows this. NetEase knows this. They also know that keeping people on the game and spending time playing is their top priority. More playtime turns into more sales of their skins and other cosmetic items. So, instead of giving you another fair match, the game throws you for a loop. If you have won a couple ranked games in a row, you will be met with a surprise. Marvel Rivals will actively match you into a game where the other team is much better than you. Calculating play time, win rate, and rank is easy for the developers. So put the players who are about to rank up with the most diabolically strong team possible. Back down the rank you go. “Well, that’s ok.” You think. “I can still win the next game and rank up.” And so, you lose again. And again. And again. Until you’re back at the bottom of your rank, having to climb all the way up again. So you climb up again, and then you lose three games in a row. And the cycle repeats until you stop playing or have a stroke of incredible luck allowing you to escape whatever rank you’re in. All of this is done just so players will continue to spend time and money on the game. It isn’t fair or skill-based, nor does it show the love and passion NetEase clearly has for this game and its players. 

Marvel Rivals is a fantastic game. The design and execution behind each and every part of this shooter is put together wonderfully. At the same time, nothing comes before making money, and that includes not manipulating your players into addiction. With how many people are enjoying this game and how many people are beginning to play it each day, there is no excuse for this kind of business practice. It is ethically unsound, and a detrimental precedent to set within the video game industry as a whole. If NetEase truly wants to show how much they care about this game, they’ll cater to their fans by removing the dubious matchmaking process currently set. As the game is now, I can truthfully say it is a very fun time and I will continue to sink hours upon hours into it; at the same time, I can’t in good conscience recommend anybody play it knowing the business practices that are being used.