"This Community is Pathetic" Controversial Marvel Rivals…

One Marvel Rivals player has created a petition calling for Aden Zhiyong and the rest of the team responsible for balancing combat in the popular hero shooter to be fired. As a competitive live-service title, Marvel Rivals regularly receives updates that aim to elevate characters who are underperforming while nerfing those who seem to be dominating the battlefield. Marvel Rivals was originally released on December 6, 2024, and is currently available on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.

NetEase Games recently launched Season 6.5 of Marvel Rivals, adding Elsa Bloodstone to the title's ever-expanding roster. Elsa Bloodstone is one of the game's fearsome duelists, meaning she has a strong focus on dishing out as much damage as possible. In order to accomplish this, she can swap between two different guns. As Bloodstone continues to damage and eliminate players, she'll become more formidable herself. In addition, her ultimate ability allows her to summon a monster that both deals damage and pushes back any enemies it hits. While many players were excited to find out more about Elsa Bloodstone and her unique ability kit, others were disappointed to learn about some of the balance changes that would be launching alongside the new hero.

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By Richard Warren

Marvel Rivals Petition Calls for Aden Zhiyong to Be Fired

A recent petition posted on Change.org is calling for Aden Zhiyong and his team to be fired after making claims that they've failed to improve the combat balance of Marvel Rivals. Zhiyong is the Lead Combat Designer for the hero shooter, which means that he and his team are responsible for ensuring that things stay fair and fun on the battlefield. Shortly after revealing a new set of balance changes, fans took to social media to express their disappointment with the current state of the game. One player going by the username Plague_Doc2349 took things several steps further and started a petition on Change.org to demand that NetEase Games fire Zhiyong and his team. As of writing, the petition only has 94 verified signatures.

Who’s That Character?

Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.

Who’s That Character?

Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.

Easy (7.5s)Medium (5.0s)Hard (2.5s)Permadeath (2.5s)

While the petition itself hasn't gained a lot of momentum, it did catch the attention of other players on Reddit. Simple_Cash_319 made a post with the headline "this community is pathetic," going on to say that it was "disgusting" that people would sign a petition to get Zhiyong and his team fired. Many people in the comments seemed to agree, equating the petition to a "tantrum" after Marvel Rivals' recent balance changes failed to meet some player expectations.

In the petition, Plague_Doc2349 claims that Zhiyong and his team have refused to listen to feedback from the community, causing players to leave the Marvel title in favor of playing Overwatch. In fact, most of the complaints revolve around the idea that Overwatch's team is better at balancing and listening to the community. This comes at a time when Overwatch's player count has dramatically increased, though that likely has more to do with a recent update released by Blizzard that added a lot of content to the hero shooter. It's fairly common to see live-service titles experience an increase in players around the launch of major content updates.

NetEase Games hasn't commented on the petition, but it has stated that it has some big plans for Marvel Rivals in 2026, claiming that 2025 was just a "warm-up." While the company didn't give any specific details, it seems as if the developers have been paying attention to the community's enthusiastic support of new game modes. For instance, NetEase Games extended the duration of the title's Marvel Zombies event multiple times due to its success. It's likely that the developer will continue to experiment and expand upon such modes in the future, giving players a wide variety of content to enjoy. Despite some negativity floating around within the community, many fans have continued to express their excitement for the future of Marvel Rivals.