Marvel Rivals Issues Apology for Unjust Bans
NetEase, the developer of Marvel Rivals, issued a public apology for mistakenly banning numerous innocent players. The incident occurred during a crackdown on cheaters, with many non-Windows users falling victim to the unintended consequences.
Accidental Bans Affect Mac, Linux, and Steam Deck Users
The mass-banning effort, initiated on January 3rd, incorrectly flagged players utilizing compatibility layers like those found on macOS, Linux, and the Steam Deck. These players were using compatibility software to run the game, which was mistakenly identified as cheating software. NetEase has since reversed the bans and apologized for the inconvenience. They encourage players to report actual cheating behavior and offer an appeals process for wrongful bans. The Steam Deck’s Proton compatibility layer has a history of triggering anti-cheat systems.
Calls for Universal Character Bans
Separately, the Marvel Rivals community is advocating for a change to the game's character ban system. Currently, this feature—allowing players to remove specific characters from selection—is only available in Diamond rank and above. Players in lower ranks express frustration, arguing that the lack of character bans creates unbalanced gameplay and limits strategic options. Reddit users highlight the disparity, noting that the ban system's absence impacts lower-ranked players disproportionately. The community believes that implementing character bans across all ranks would improve gameplay balance and provide valuable learning opportunities for newer players. NetEase has yet to publicly respond to these concerns.
