Marvel Rivals puts fun first in game balance, but new heroes and maps can still get complicated: “We joke about when we develop a hero and when we develop a new map, it’s just doing science research”

What sort of design philosophy goes into balancing Marvel Rivals heroes? How difficult is it, and what sort of challenges are associated with that? That’s what I wanted to know during an interview with some of the folks working on Marvel Rivals at Game Developers Conference. The answer, as it turns out, is both simple and technically complicated.

“The philosophy on balancing is actually quite simple: fun,” says Danny Koo, Marvel Games executive producer. “With Marvel superheroes, we always highlight the action part. With any balancing, like even before balancing, you have to understand that each individual character, when you play them first and foremost, is fun. After balancing and you playtest it internally, making sure that you preserve that fun… That’s the pillar across the board and it won’t change anytime soon.”