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Marvel Rivalsis currently one of the most popular hero shooter games in the market. The title made by Chinese developers, NetEase Games absolutely blew up when it was first released in December 2024 and has an average player count of more than 200,000 players per day.
This free-to-play game was published in collaboration with Marvel Games and was released for various platforms like the PlayStation 5, Xbox series X/S, and Windows.
Marvel Rivalshas an ever-growing plethora of playable characters, 37 to be exact, each character bringing their own unique abilities to the game. Then why is NetEase refusing to add this one character to theMarvel Rivalswho is the counter for the most broken character? Let’s find out.
Is NetEase avoiding Shang Chi because of Simu Liu?
Marvel Rivalstook the world by storm when it was launched. NetEase used the constantly expanding fan base ofMarveland gave them a hero shooter so fans ofMarvelcould play with their favorite characters. Some of these famous characters includeIron Man, Spider-Man, The Incredible Hulk, and much more. There is one hero in the Marvel Universe that gets overshadowed by Iron Fist and that character is Shang Chi.
Shang Chi a.k.a the Master of Kung Fu debuted first in the comic bookSpecial Marvel Edition #15in December 1983. Afilm was later adapted in 2021starring Simu Liu. The film was the first big-budget superhero film that featured an Asian actor and it received generally favourable reviews. AlthoughShang Chidid pretty well in the Box Office, the movie was not released in China because of a controversy surrounding Simu Liu.
In a 2017 interview (now deleted) with the CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation), Liu described China as this third-world country where people are dying of starvation. He further commented about how his family left China when he was five and how his parents thought Canada would be a better place for Liu to grow up.
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These statements quickly went viral on the Chinese social media app Weibo, drawing significant backlash against Liu. Since then, Chinese netizens have harbored a lingering resentment towards Liu.
Why is NetEase reluctant to bring Shang Chi toMarvel Rivals?
Marvel Rivalsdeveloper, NetEase Games is a Chinese internet technology company based in the Hangzhou region of China. Although NetEase Games dwell in mobile games and some collaborative games likeDiablo Immortal, made in collaboration with Blizzard. The Chinese gaming company has been known to align with national sentiment.
NetEase Games, being a Chinese company that values its national sentiment, might have taken the Simu Liu controversy into account when making character selection decisions forMarvel Rivals. If the company perceived Liu’s comments as controversial or disrespectful to China, it could have influenced their decision to exclude Shang Chi from the game.
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While all this remains speculation, it wouldn’t be the first time a Chinese gaming or entertainment company has made decisions based on their political or national sentiment.
Whether this move by NetEase was deliberate or just a creative decision, the fact that Shang Chi is not inMarvel Rivalscertainly raised a lot of eyebrows among fans.
Sreyoskrit Mukherjee
Content Writer
Articles Published :346
Sreyoskrit is an avid indie game enjoyer and a huge Batman fan. With a true passion for video games, he is beginning his writing journey here at Fandomwire. When he is not writing, you will definitely find him playing those niche games that most people often ignore.
