Marvel Rivals apologises after banning negative reviews

Developers of an upcoming Marvel game have apologised after content creators were told they could not give it negative reviews.

Marvel Rivals faced criticism after some people playing a test version of the game were asked to sign a "non-disparagement" clause in a contract with the developers.

It said gamers agreed not to make any public statements that could be detrimental to the game's reputation, such as a negative review, "belittling" gameplay or making "disparaging or satirical comments".

Following the backlash, Marvel Rivals said it was sorry for the "confusion, suspicion, and frustration caused by these excessively restrictive terms".

"We would like to apologise for any unpleasant experiences or doubts caused by the miscommunication of these terms," it said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.

"We actively encourage creators to share their honest thoughts, suggestions, and criticisms as they play."

It added it is working with people who voiced concerns about the clause to revise the contract, and changing its terms to "be less restrictive and more creator-friendly".

The game was developed by Chinese gaming giant NetEase in collaboration with Marvel Games.

Marvel Rivals is an upcoming free-to-play shooting game for PC, where players control comic book heroes and villains like Spider-Man and Scarlet Witch.

It is currently testing an early version of the game with a small number of people.

And some people online have defended the clause based around this - arguing it is too early in the game's development to be negative about it.

But others were more critical, with US gamer Brandon Larned, known as Seagull to his 1.2m followers on Twitch, saying he was "extremely disappointed" in the game's publisher.

"The contract signs away your right to negatively review the game... many streamers have signed without reading just to play," he said.

He has not yet commented on the developer's response.