NetEase Games announced on March 7 a major upgrade to Marvel Rivals' anti-throwing infrastructure, introducing automated detection powered by big data analysis alongside a new Victim Compensation Protocol that refunds ranked points lost due to a confirmed teammate throwing a match.
On the detection side, NetEase says it has deployed a brand-new system across all servers that pairs big data analysis with manual review to identify malicious throwing behaviour. Once a violation is confirmed, the offending account faces what the developer describes as "strict additional penalties."NetEase has previously stated that rule-breakers face consequences "including, but not limited to, permanent bans."
The compensation component addresses a significant problem in competitive gaming.The Victim Compensation Protocol addresses the most direct consequence of that behaviour: the unfair loss of ranked points. What makes this approach meaningful is the automatic nature of the refund. Players do not need to file a separate appeal or wait on manual case reviews to recover their points once a violation is confirmed.
Throwing in ranked modes is not a new problem for live-service multiplayer titles, but Marvel Rivals has seen the issue escalate in a specific way. High-ranking players have reportedly been throwing matches deliberately to keep rivals out of certain rank tiers, creating a targeted form of sabotage that punishes competitive players who have no way to defend against it in the moment.
The upgrade came directly in response tothe website Intlist, which first appeared on February 23, allowed players to post bounties on throwers and cheaters, encouraging others to queue into the same lobbies as them and throw (intentionally lose) the game as a 'punishment.'Players were being offered as much as $40 to sabotage games of popular streamers, and before long, the trend became prominent enough that it went viral across social media.
NetEase maintains a strict zero-tolerance policy against any form of malicious disruption. The company says it has received significant community feedback on the issue and is treating it as an ongoing priority.NetEase's decision to pair big data analysis with human review also suggests the developer is trying to avoid false positives, a common criticism of automated-only moderation systems where legitimate players can get caught in broad detection sweeps.
According to NetEase,if a match loss and the resulting points deduction are directly tied to a confirmed throwing teammate, the system automatically restores those lost points. Players receive an in-game mail notification once the compensation has been processed.