Marvel Rivals Players Are Risking Account Bans to Mod the Game Even After Season 1 Clampdown

Marvel Rivals players are risking having their accounts banned by continuing to use mods even after a clampdown with the release of Season 1.

Ever since Marvel Rivals’ hugely successful December launch players have used mods to create custom skins despite concern over account bans. Popular mods include turning Iron Man into Vegeta from Dragon Ball and Mantis into a goth. There’s even a mod that turns Jeff the Land Shark into Pochita from Chainsaw Man.

Last week, alongside the launch of the Fantastic Four and Season 1, Marvel Rivals added a secret mod restriction in the form of asset hash checking. At the time, developer NetEase told IGN that the game’s terms and conditions prohibit mods as well as cheats, bots, hacks, or any other unauthorized third-party software. NetEase had already warned Marvel Rivals players that using mods might cause problems, and reinforced that message in a statement to IGN: “It is not recommended to modify any game files, as doing so carries the risk of getting banned.”

However, it seems some are undeterred. A workaround was discovered and is now widely circulating online and, while it involves more steps than previously, is manageable for most PC players.

Modder Prafit, who uploaded their workaround to Nexus Mods, issued a warning to players: “Use at your own risk,” Prafit said in the description of the mod.

“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.”

Now, new mods have sprung up that take advantage of the addition of Fantastic Four characters. For example, Ercuallo’s mod turns Mister Fantastic into Luffy from the manga One Piece. According to stats from Nexus Mods, this Luffy mod has already been downloaded over 5,000 times in the two days since 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 Marvel Rivals modders and those who continue to use them is whether NetEase will actually ban players, as it’s threatened to. The community has yet to unearth an example of a player who has been banned for using mods, but workarounds may spark further action.

Why would NetEase want to ban mods? Apart from the potential lost revenue associated with the sale of skins and potential intellectual property concern, mods may affect the balance of gameplay or even the performance of the game itself. Indeed, modder Prafit said that their temporary workaround should only be used by those with a “beefy” PC.

In the meantime, check out the Marvel Rivals Season 1 patch notes, and official stats that reveal Marvel Rivals’ pick and win rates in Quickplay and Competitive modes for Season 0. And keep an eye on the latest Marvel Rivals codes for free skins, and vote on the strongest Marvel Rivals characters in our community tier list.

Image credit: @Ercuallo.

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.