The developer of Marvel Rivals has addressed what it called the “disturbing trend” of “incentivized throwing,” where players are enticed by third-party bounties to deliberately sabotage matches.
Last month, Marvel Rivals players called on developer NetEase Games to take action after the emergence of an unofficial bounty website that triggered fears it could harm the community it was supposedly trying to protect.
Fans of the hero shooter sounded the alarm when third-party site Intlist.org went live on February 22. Established by Marvel Rivals content creator and X/Twitter user EchoRivals, Intlist’s goal was to give players an avenue to name those who intentionally sabotage or “throw” multiplayer matches and “put a price on their head.”
“Put a bounty on griefers & throwers,” the first, now-deleted post on its X account read, promising a system that offered an 80% payout for those who successfully throw matches in retaliation. “Someone queues in, throws it back, gets paid.”
One Reddit user calling attention to the issue said they’d seen an increase in sabotaged matches for every kind of player, warning that “now every game is people throwing each other’s games.” The Intlist account replied to the criticism, insisting: “Collateral damage is an unfortunate reality of war.”
Now, in an official statement published to the Marvel Rivals Discord, NetEase threatened players who engaged with external bounties with a permanent ban.
Here’s the statement in full:
We have recently identified a disturbing trend within our community: “incentivized throwing,” where players are enticed by third-party bounties to deliberately sabotage matches. This behavior not only undermines the integrity of our game but also tarnishes the experience for honest players who are committed to fair competition.
In light of this, we want to make our position clear:
We maintain a strict zero-tolerance policy against any form of malicious disruption. To combat this issue, we are implementing a specialized investigation protocol focused on identifying and addressing negative gameplay linked to these external bounties. Accounts found to be violating our policies will face serious repercussions, including, but not limited to, permanent bans. We strongly advise players against jeopardizing their valuable accounts and hard-earned progress for the sake of temporary incentives.
Moreover, to reinforce the principles of fair competition, we have enhanced our regulations regarding negative gameplay. Accounts found to be engaging in disruptive behaviors, such as malicious idling (AFK) or intentionally throwing matches, will incur significant penalties following reporting and verification.
If you encounter players who are maliciously idling or intentionally throwing games, we encourage you to utilize the reporting feature immediately. Your reports are crucial and will be thoroughly investigated by our dedicated team.
Maintaining a positive gaming environment is a collective responsibility. Thank you for your continued support!
Intlist had already been pulled offline last month, promising “something big is coming.” At the time, EchoRivals claimed the site was locked down after they “detected unauthorized access to our database from a single bad actor.”
Today, March 5, EchoRivals posted in the Intlist Discord to say the website would remain offline “for the time being,” adding: “No ETA on when/if we will be back. This was my decision.”
Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at [email protected] or confidentially at [email protected].
