Marvel Rivals Players Face Tough Choice: Mods or Bans as Season 1 Launches
Remember that amazing mod that let you play as Dragon Ball's Vegeta blasting repulsor rays across the map? Or that gothic Mantis skin that had the whole community buzzing? Well, logging into Marvel Rivals today, players are finding these creative spins on their favorite heroes have hit a wall.
With Season 1's arrival, NetEase has quietly rolled out what the tech folks call "asset hash checking" – basically giving every character model and skin a digital fingerprint that the game checks for authenticity. If you're running any mods, even cosmetic ones, the game will know.
The timing is particularly interesting. Marvel Rivals has been absolutely exploding since its December launch, pulling in a massive 10 million players in just its first 72 hours. For context, that's the kind of numbers you usually only see from gaming's biggest hitters. Sure, being free-to-play helps those numbers, but it's still turning heads in the hero shooter space.
NetEase has been pretty clear about their stance on mods from day one. When asked about the recent changes, they kept it straightforward, telling IGN that modifying game files "carries the risk of getting banned." Reading between the lines – yes, that cool Vegeta mod could cost you your account.
For anyone just jumping into Marvel Rivals, it's essentially what you'd get if Overwatch and Marvel had a baby. The Chinese studio NetEase has taken that hero shooter formula and filled it with Marvel's greatest hits, creating something that's been catching fire with both superhero fans and competitive players alike.
Will this be the end of Marvel Rivals modding? If gaming history has taught us anything, it's that modders always find a way. But for now, players might want to think twice before running those custom skins – no matter how cool that goth Mantis looks.
