Marvel Mod Allegedly Removed Over Political Controversy

Summary

A Donald Trump character mod for the game Marvel Rivals has been removed from Nexus Mods, reportedly due to its sociopolitical nature, violating the modding platform's established guidelines. NetEase Games, the developer of Marvel Rivals, has yet to comment on the use of character mods in their game.

Marvel Rivals, a hero shooter released recently, has quickly gained millions of players. Many players enhance their experience with mods, altering hero models with skins from Marvel comics and films, or even using models from other games like Fortnite.

A Nexus Mods user created and uploaded a mod replacing Captain America's model with Donald Trump. This mod gained attention on social media, with some players even searching for a corresponding Joe Biden mod. However, both the Trump and Biden mods are now inaccessible on Nexus Mods, indicating removal by the platform.

Reason for Removal:

Nexus Mods' policy, established in 2020 amidst the US presidential election, prohibits mods involving US sociopolitical issues. This policy, announced during the contentious Trump-Biden election, led to the removal of the Trump mod.

Social media reactions were mixed. Some players found the ban unsurprising, citing the incongruity of Trump's image with Captain America's. Others expressed dissatisfaction with Nexus Mods' stance on political content in mods. It's worth noting that while many Trump mods have likely been removed from Nexus Mods, some remain available for other games such as Skyrim, Fallout 4, and XCOM 2.

NetEase Games, the game developer, has not publicly addressed the issue of character mods, particularly those featuring controversial figures. The company is currently focused on resolving various issues in the new game, including bug fixes and addressing wrongful account bans.