Marvel Rivals Modding Persists Despite Season 1 Bans

Marvel Rivals players are risking account bans by continuing to use mods, even after a clampdown initiated with the release of Season 1. Since the game's hugely successful launch in December, players have been using mods to create custom skins, despite warnings about potential account bans. Popular mods have transformed characters like Iron Man into Vegeta from Dragon Ball, Mantis into a goth, and Jeff the Land Shark into Pochita from Chainsaw Man.

Last week, with the launch of the Fantastic Four and Season 1, Marvel Rivals introduced a secret mod restriction through asset hash checking. Developer NetEase told IGN that the game's terms and conditions strictly prohibit mods, as well as cheats, bots, hacks, or any other unauthorized third-party software. NetEase had previously cautioned players about the risks of using mods and reiterated this warning in a statement to IGN: "It is not recommended to modify any game files, as doing so carries the risk of getting banned."

Despite these warnings, some players remain undeterred. A workaround has been discovered and is now widely circulating online. While it involves more steps than before, it is manageable for most PC players. Modder Prafit, who uploaded their workaround to Nexus Mods, issued a caution: “Use at your own risk,” Prafit noted in the mod's description. "By using this, you are actually circumventing a system that was created to stop us from modding on the Season 1 patch start. No-one knows if NetEase will ban you, but they have never issued permabans as far as we know."

The introduction of the Fantastic Four has spurred the creation of new mods. For instance, Ercuallo's mod transforms Mister Fantastic into Luffy from the manga One Piece. According to Nexus Mods statistics, this Luffy mod has been downloaded over 5,000 times just two days after its launch.

Modding Marvel Rivals lives on but it needs extra steps to pull off pic.twitter.com/VEeiiHyxiA

— Marvel Rivals - Leaks & Info (@RivalsLeaks) January 12, 2025

The question looming over Marvel Rivals modders and those who continue to use mods is whether NetEase will follow through with its threats of bans. So far, the community has not uncovered any instances of players being banned for using mods, but the existence of workarounds may provoke further action from NetEase.

NetEase's interest in banning mods stems from multiple concerns. Apart from potential lost revenue from skin sales and intellectual property issues, mods can disrupt the balance of gameplay or even affect the game's performance. Modder Prafit emphasized that their temporary workaround should only be used by those with a “beefy” PC.

In the meantime, be sure to review the Marvel Rivals Season 1 patch notes, and check out the official stats on Marvel Rivals' pick and win rates in Quickplay and Competitive modes for Season 0. Don't forget to keep an eye on the latest Marvel Rivals codes for free skins, and participate in voting for the strongest Marvel Rivals characters in our community tier list.