Marvel Rivals devs apologise for mass banning players who weren’t actually cheating

Marvel Rivals developer NetEase Games has apologised to its 20 million-strong playerbase after accidentially banning thousands of players at the turn of the New Year. In a recent ban wave, countless players were banned from the popular hero shooter by mistake.

With Season 1 coming soon, bringing the Fantastic Four and a brand-new Vampire-themed map, there’s a lot for players to look forward to. Of course, they have to be able to play the game to actually enjoy it.

NetEase apologises for Marvel Rivals bans

In a statement on Discord, NetEase explained that many players who were not cheating in Marvel Rivals were unfairly banned from the game. The studio explained that some players who were playing via compatibility layers—for example, those on the Steam Deck—were banned by accident.

“We sincerely apologize for this situation and want to assure you that we do not and will not ban players who are playing fairly and without cheating,” the studio said. “We have identified the specific reasons behind these false bans and have compiled a list of affected players.”

Those who were affected by the recent ban wave and weren’t actually cheating should see their bans revoked in the coming days. Of course, some affected players may not be unbanned, but those few are encouraged to reach out to the game’s support helpline.

On launch, Marvel Rivals was praised for its rapid cheat detection feature with players being banned almost immeditaely after a report. With other Chinese games, such as Delta Force’s Team Jade, having dedicated cheat detection teams, it’s no surprise that cheating is being taken seriously.

However, unlike some popular games such as Call of Duty, Marvel Rivals isn’t afraid to admit faults in its system. While many of these bans did occur for players gaming through Linux’s Proton compatibility layer, which often triggers anti-cheat, other players were also affected.

For more Marvel Rivals news, read about the leaked Ultron character coming in a future update, or read about the leaked Capture the Flag mode which could be hilariously unbalanced.