Marvel Rivals Reverses Bans on Steam Deck and Mac Players Wrongly Accused of Cheating
Game News PlayArcade 04 Jan , 2025 0
Marvel Rivals Reverses Bans on Steam Deck and Mac Players Wrongly Accused of Cheating
Players of the superhero shooter Marvel Rivals on Steam Deck, Mac, and other Linux-based systems can breathe a sigh of relief as developer NetEase has unbanned users who were mistakenly caught in a recent wave of cheater bans. The company had handed out bans of up to 100 years to players they suspected of cheating, but in their haste, they failed to differentiate between legitimate compatibility layers—software that allows non-Windows operating systems, like the Steam Deck’s SteamOS, to run Windows games—and actual cheating hacks.
According to IGN, NetEase has since issued an apology to the affected players and lifted the bans. “We sincerely apologize for this situation and want to assure you that we do not and will not ban players who are playing fairly and without cheating,” the developer stated on Discord. While the wording might seem a bit ironic given the context, they added, “We have identified the specific reasons behind these false bans and have compiled a list of affected players. We have lifted these bans and want to express our heartfelt apologies for the inconvenience this has caused.”
This incident serves as a reminder that justice can sometimes be achieved through sincere apologies from executives, just as effectively as through vigilante heroes or sentient trees. Although I haven’t played Marvel Rivals—Ed’s review was enough to dissuade me, even without my prior saturation of hero shooters—it’s worth noting that Valve has rated the game as Playable on the Steam Deck. This suggests that the number of falsely banned SteamOS players could have been significant.
Proton, the compatibility layer used by SteamOS, has a history of triggering certain anti-cheat systems. In the early days of the Steam Deck, this was primarily due to software compatibility issues rather than any inherent problems with Proton itself. Nonetheless, the idea of exposing games to the unpredictable nature of open-source Linux continues to make some developers uneasy. For instance, Fortnite has never been available on SteamOS, and Apex Legends recently dropped support over similar cheating concerns.