Marvel Rivals playtest contract prevents players from providing negative criticism

With the arrival of the Marvel Rivals playtest, Netease's upcoming third-person hero shooter immediately drew public ire. As per the closed playtest contract, players who sign it are explicitly forbidden from sharing negative reviews. This information comes based on a tidbit from the contract shared by Twitch streamer A_Seagull on their X account, stating that content creators cannot be:

"Engaging in malicious comparisons with competitors or belittling the gameplay or differences of "Marvel Rivals" or subjective negative reviews of the game."

This is particularly concerning since keeping players from sharing their full views might point to a bigger problem with the Marvel Rivals playtest. Here's everything players need to know.

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Marvel Rivals playtest forbids players from offering "subjective negative reviews" of the game

The full context is as follows, and frankly paints the game and its publisher in a negative light:

"2.1 Non-disparagement: The Content Creator agrees not to make any public statements or engage in discussions that are detrimental to the reputation of the game."

It adds:

"This includes but is not limited to: a) Making disparaging or satirical comments about any game-related material such as game features, characters or music."

It continues:

"b. Engaging in malicious comparisons with competitors or belittling the gameplay or differences of "Marvel Rivals" or subjective negative reviews of the game."

Ever since its debut reveal, Marvel Rivals has been constantly compared to Blizzard Entertainment's Overwatch franchise. This is not just because both are hero shooters, but Netease's rendition looks like it borrows more than a few pages from the FPS multiplayer game.

This has earned it the nickname of "Overwatch Clone" from many players, so Marvel and Netaease's standoffish stance on this matter is somewhat understandable. However, completely withholding the players' rights to offer an unbiased view of the game is wrong and very much anti-consumer.

Granted, the Marvel Rivals playtest is available to only a handful of streamers and other content creators, but this move will no doubt sour many fans' impressions of the game. Thus far, no official statement has been offered by either Netease or Disney regarding the matter. But if this scenario spirals further out of control, we may see a conclusion.

While the Marvel Rivals playtest is only on PC right now, an official release date for the game is yet to be confirmed. Find more about Marvel Rivals here, including heroes and maps.