Marvel Rivals Bot Conspiracy Unveiled

While *Marvel Rivals* continues to dominate the Steam and Twitch charts, a lingering issue has left fans questioning their experience with NetEase Games' latest hero shooter: the presence of bots. Launched in December, the superhero-themed competitive multiplayer game quickly garnered critical acclaim and widespread fan appreciation for its engaging style and innovative use of iconic characters like Spider-Man, Wolverine, and the recently introduced Fantastic Four. The game's success is evident with hundreds of thousands of players logging in daily on Steam alone, according to SteamDB. However, despite avoiding many common pitfalls of the genre, *Marvel Rivals* has been facing persistent concerns from its community regarding the use of AI enemies in various game modes.

"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."

Marvel Rivals Tier List: Best Heroes

Like many multiplayer titles released in the last 15 years, *Marvel Rivals* includes practice modes where players face off against AI opponents, commonly known as "bots." These modes allow players to adjust the difficulty to their preference, making them essential for skill improvement and a relaxing break from the high-stakes human player matches. However, the game has stirred controversy with reports of bots appearing in regular Quickplay matches.

Over the weeks following the launch, social media has been inundated with posts from players suspecting they are matched against low-level bot players, and sometimes, their teammates are replaced by bots as well. The community speculates that these bot matches might be triggered after a series of losses, serving as a way to prevent player discouragement and reduce queue times. Yet, NetEase has not been forthcoming about the presence of bots in Quickplay, leaving players to speculate and search for signs themselves.

Social media posts have highlighted various indicators of bot presence, such as repetitive in-game behavior, similarly formatted teammate names, and all capital letters or split names. The most notable sign is when every enemy's career profile is marked as "restricted."

"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 said. "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 occurring in games like Fortnite. In *Marvel Rivals*, opinions vary: some players demand an option to toggle bot matches, others want them removed entirely, and a few appreciate bot lobbies for achieving specific hero milestones. Reddit user ciaranxy, who began questioning their matches 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 stated in their post. "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. My own experience confirmed at least one suspicious Quickplay match displaying many of the warning signs mentioned by players, including unnatural player movement, uniform naming conventions, and restricted profiles across both teams. We've reached out to NetEase for clarification on these matches and the alleged bot presence in *Marvel Rivals*.

As the community continues to investigate bots in gaming, you can discover how some *Marvel Rivals* players are using the Invisible Woman to literally stop bots in their tracks. Regardless of how NetEase addresses this issue, the company is gearing up for an exciting 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 fans can look forward to acquiring a new skin in the form of Peter Parker’s Advanced Suit 2.0 from Marvel’s Spider-Man later this month.