NetEase’s Marvel Rivals is an incredible multiplayer game with new content dropping all the time. As the game gears up for its Season 6 update with the arrival of Deadpool, we’re likely going to get another spike in the game’s continually dwindling player count.
Marvel Rivals has lost around 85% of its PC playerbase since its juggernaut launch, but the game continues to spike in players whenever a new update launches. While some have doomed and gloomed about the game’s concurrent player count, Marvel has already confirmed that 2026 will see even bigger updates for the hero shooter, so there’s little reason to worry.
On the other hand, Marvel Rivals is still suffering from the game problem as it has for months: the rampant population of bots in matches. Similar to Battlefield 6, which launched with full teams of bots filling up matches, Rivals players are frequently finding themselves playing against bots instead of human players.
If a player loses two consecutive games in quick play, Marvel Rivals will immediately place them into a bot lobby. These lobbies put the player on a team mixed with bots and real players against an all-bot team, and bots are easy to spot not just because of their gameplay style but because their profiles are always restricted.
In a recent post on the game’s subreddit, players noted that the bot problem is getting even worse in Marvel Rivals. Now, the game rapidly places players into matches after a single loss, even if you’re the SVP of the match.
Players have called for months for NetEase to either lighten the possibility of encountering bots in Quick Play, or to give players the option to choose whether they want to encounter bots or not.
“They should really just make it an option if you wanna play with bots or not,” one player said. “Players who are smart enough and wanna actually test their skills can just disable the bot matches. Its so obvious to me.”
In a previous interview with FRVR, Marvel Rivals game director Guangyun Chen explained that the game can only succeed if “players find the game enjoyable and immersive”. While this quote came from a topic regarding monetisation, the same rings true of the continued bot problem facing the game.
Right now, Marvel Rivals bots are more prominent and noticeable than ever, despite players pointing out that their immersion is broken by the increased bot population. Hopefully, as Rivals updates continue, NetEase will at least calm its use of bots, or give players the ability to opt out of their egregious use.
