After one week of testing, a Marvel Rivals player says they’ve proven that AI bots will fill Quickplay games under certain circumstances.
Shortly after launch, Marvel Rivals users who regularly popped into Quickplay matches noticed that something felt off. Losing a few matches in a row appeared to result in the game conjuring up matches filled with AI bots.
Developer NetEase Games hasn’t addressed the matter either way, neither confirming nor denying that bots exist.
However, one Reddit user spent a week testing the theory and has dug up a few key identifiers that prove bots are, in fact, present in Marvel Rivals.
Marvel Rivals player explains bots in Quickplay matches
Redditor ciaranxy said they previously shared posts proving the existence of bots in-game, only to have their video content removed and flagged as “self-promotion.”
Now, after several days of testing, the user has returned to outline their findings. As many already assumed, bots only show up in Quickplay games. The chances of getting thrown into a bot lobby increase exponentially after losing two consecutive matches.
Apparently, these lobbies pit six bot opponents against four humans and two bot teammates. Players who leave bot lobbies before a match ends can expect to be penalized, though the Redditor didn’t outline what the penalty entails.
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The player further noted that all Marvel Rivals bots sit at Account Level 1 and have “restricted access” profiles. Normally, when players hide their accounts, it says “limited access.” As a result, it has become much easier to identify which players are bots.
Since NetEase remains mum about the issue, many in the community believe the team is waiting for players to make a big fuss before deploying a patch that either rids the game of bots or makes the feature optional.
But others have pointed out that this is a trend for NetEase-developed titles like Identity V. “Netease has been doing this, putting bots in quick play so player queues are fast,” one person said in the thread.
As of now, all Marvel Rivals players can do is voice their displeasure. There’s also a chance that those who don’t like the feature are in the vocal minority and that having bots in the game is helping retention for casual players.
Fortnite commonly puts bots in matches for the same reason, and it’s been a proven formula to keep struggling players engaged despite hardcore users pushing back.