‘Fun takes emphasis’: Marvel Rivals ditches perfect balance for player enjoyment

Multiplayer game developers these days often find themselves stuck in the cobweb of either trying to balance a title to perfection to uphold competitive integrity, or letting the mayhem loose to maximize the entertainment factor. It’s very much the latter the Marvel Rivals‘ designers are embracing.

Marvel Rivals has taken a cue from Spider-Man and broken free from the web of balance, choosing to prioritize the sheer “fun” of playing with one of its standout features—environmental destruction. “The primary perspective of the team is we’re trying to make a fun game, not necessarily a balanced game. And that fun really takes emphasis over that perfect balance, so it’s an exploration with the players,” game director Thad Sasser said in a conversation with Dot Esports, reflecting on how the developers are looking for feedback and usage patterns to refine the feature further down the line.