Marvel Rivals launches “immediate, targeted purge” after surge in cheating following latest update

The developers of Marvel Rivals have launched a large-scale anti-cheat operation after detecting a surge of players using unauthorized third-party tools following the game’s latest update on May 21, 2026.

The announcement was published on the official Marvel Rivals website in a blog post titled “Penalty Announcement: Zero Tolerance on Cheats.” According to the developers, security systems identified multiple accounts using cheats, illicit assist software, and modified game clients. By May 25, a total of 485 accounts had been permanently banned.

NetEase described the operation as an “immediate, targeted purge” aimed at protecting the competitive integrity of the game. The studio explained that its anti-cheat measures rely on several layers of protection, including automated cheat detection, abnormal behavior tracking, historical data analysis, and manual investigations.

The developers also confirmed that all identified cheat signatures have now been added to the game’s automated penalty system. Any future accounts found using similar software or exploits will reportedly receive instant permanent bans.

In addition to account suspensions, three players received permanent hardware bans, including one competitor ranked in the prestigious One Above All tier. The published list of banned accounts — with personal details removed — showed that offenders came from a wide range of skill levels and competitive ranks.

NetEase stated that players who believe they were banned unfairly can submit appeals through official customer support channels. However, the company warned that punishments are only issued after verification processes are completed.

The blog post also addressed rumors spreading online about supposed methods to disable Marvel Rivals’ anti-cheat system using launch parameters. According to the developers, these claims are completely false. The studio clarified that the anti-cheat software launches together with the game client and cannot be disabled separately, while the discussed parameter only hides the pop-up window without affecting the protection system itself.

Marvel Rivals previously surpassed 40 million players and reportedly generated $2.9 billion in revenue for NetEase as of February 2025. Despite the game’s commercial success, the company also laid off the game’s director and several members of the development team earlier that same year.