In Marvel Rivals, there have been more and more reports of players ending up in bot lobbies after a few defeats. But what is behind this?
For days now, users on Reddit and, more recently, on X have been discussing hidden bot lobbies in Marvel Rivals.
Initially, the posts went largely unnoticed, but as more players continued their gaming sessions, the topic gained traction.
Now, hundreds of social media users are reporting that after losing more than two games in a row, they are being placed in lobbies seemingly dominated by bots.
While the community feels deceived, the developer NetEase has remained silent on the matter.
Discovered On Reddit
The debate reached a new peak when Reddit user ciaranxy published a detailed report titled "Everything You Need to Know About Marvel Rivals Secret Quickplay Bots."
In this report, ciaranxy describes how they systematically analyzed gameplay over the course of a week and concluded that Marvel Rivals indeed uses bot matches to keep losing players engaged.
According to ciaranxy's findings, players who lose two consecutive matches in Quickplay are often placed into bot matches.
Everything You Need to Know About Marvel Rivals Secret Quickplay Bots by u/ciaranxy in marvelrivals
These matches follow a specific pattern: four real players and two bots on one side against six bots on the opposing side.
Interestingly, you will be penalised for leaving these bot lobbies, so that, if you lose, you will be forced to play with bots.
On Reddit, users suspect that NetEase is waiting to patch the bots until the community is really annoyed. That way, players will play longer and possibly buy the Battle Pass or the store.
Unless the community protests loudly, the developers are unlikely to react.
Own Tests Confirm The Theory
To verify these claims, Morgan Park, a colleague from the gaming magazine PCGamer, conducted his own series of tests.
He played several matches, closely observing the behavior of opponents and teammates.
After deliberately losing several games, he eventually found clear signs of bots: the opponents had generic names like "DieForMe" or "LanettMa" and played with noticeable inconsistency.
Marvel Rivals matches you against AI after consecutive losses pic.twitter.com/9LzEkeGbO4
— Pirat_Nation (@Pirat_Nation) January 14, 2025
Some bots exhibited impressive reaction times but were poor at finishing attacks.
Through kill cams, he observed that several accounts were at level 1 and all profiles were marked with restricted access.
These findings are closely aligned with ciaranxy's observations.
Negative Impact On The Player Experience
The community's disappointment is palpable. Many players feel misled, believing they are competing against real opponents and learning valuable lessons from their matches.
In reality, they are placed in bot matches that give a false sense of improvement.
Marvel Rivals while great needs to be more strict on how often you lose resulting in a following Bot Match. I won 3 games, lost 1 and immediately got thrown into a Bot match like... What?
— Glaceonics TTV (@Glaceonics) January 12, 2025
This manipulation is seen as an attempt by NetEase to keep players engaged longer by giving them easier wins after a series of frustrating losses.
So far, NetEase has not commented on the allegations. The silence is being interpreted by the community as an admission that the claims are not baseless.
The call for a fair and authentic gaming experience is growing louder.
It remains to be seen whether NetEase will respond to the criticism and make any changes.
Have you noticed the bot lobbies negatively? Tell us in the comments!
