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Some players and people in the wider gamer community have popped off at Marvel Rivals for over-sexualizing its in-game characters. These accusations come as discourse about the increasing sexualization of in-game player avatars begins to grow. The creative director of Rivals has responded to these accusations, attempting to dispel the ‘gooner’ epithet from the game.
It’s a tale as old as time: Sex sells. Advertisers know it, products have been using raunchy images and themes to get our dollars for decades, but is using sex to sell skins in video games going too far? Recently, Marvel Rivals has faced criticism that it is increasingly becoming ‘gooner bait’. The successful hero-shooter from NetEase features a cavalcade of different characters from across the Marvel universe, but some are claiming that these characters have been made too attractive, on purpose.
The game’s creative director, Guangyun Chen, has responded to these claims, which we will get to later. These accusations of ‘gooner bait’ can be seen as part of a growing discourse around gaming, where some players are reporting concerns with the increasing sexualization of player avatars and NPCs.
Where Do These Accusations Come From?
While some players might have been sounding the gooner alert right from the beginning, the more recent fuel to that fire has been the release of a range of summer beach-party themed skins for characters. These feature popular characters like Emma Frost, Invisible Woman and Punisher in swimsuits and, of course, the most attractive of all, The Thing in a thong.
Some players have decided that this level of goonerism is really too far, taking to Steam and Reddit to decry the attractive characters in-game. Some of these players claimed that the outfits seemed out of place, while others are simply annoyed that they are forced to look at attractively rendered digital characters.
While the accusations of making these characters deliberately sexy aren’t unfounded, sex has been used for decades to sell all sorts of products and increase engagement in all sorts of industries. Other games and gaming platforms use the images of attractive men and women to help capture player interest all the time, from the asymmetrical horror game Dead by Daylight to online casino platforms like those reviewed on Zamsino.com; images of attractive people are everywhere in gaming. Sex sells, and companies know it.
So why is it becoming a bigger talking point in public discourse now, and what do the Marvel Rivals developers have to say in response?
The Developers Respond to the Accusations
In a recent interview, the creative director of Marvel Rivals responded to the allegations that the game had become a ‘gooner game’. Guangyun Chen took the question about being a gooner game with good humour, stating that all of the designs that the characters and their skins use are all inspired and taken directly from classic comic issues, even if they occasionally take some liberties to make them more relevant for a modern audience.
Guangyun also stated that the skins are all thematically linked to in-game storylines, such as the special event seasonal events. He also made the point that the majority of fans are responding favorably to the new skins, saying that he is “grateful these designs have been well received by the majority of players.”
So he didn’t explicitly deny Rivals being in the gooner-sphere, but his response seems pretty reasonable.
A Sign of Broader Discourse in Modern Gaming
Are people really that upset about the choices the Marvel Rivals design team have made with their character representations? Probably the answer is no, but their concerns are emblematic of a broader discussion that is gaining traction in modern gaming: the over-sexualization of character avatars and NPCs in games.
Some players and stakeholders in gaming are arguing that the increasing sexualization of player characters, especially female ones, is causing issues relating to self-worth, objectification and even consent among gamers of all genders. On the other side of the coin, some players claim that they experience the opposite, citing sexualized skins as a way to feel more confident and positive about themselves.
Other detractors of the highly-sexualized character models are claiming that some games are using the pretty skins to distract players from more important issues that might be affecting the games. Claims of using sexualization to exploit weak-willed gamers and help to cover up poor game balance are also being made.
How Has the Community Reacted?
As with just about any gaming community, the Marvel Rivals community has divided opinion over the matter. Some users seem wholeheartedly accepting of the raunchy skins, happily making and sharing memes and jokes about the situation. While others are less accepting.
Although unsubstantiated, there are some claims that female players have deserted the game after being on the receiving end of misogynistic behavior. But these claims could be false, or the behavior could be unrelated to the sexy skins.
Some players are taking a balanced approach, acknowledging that different cultures and communities have different expectations and perceptions about how people’s bodies should be represented.
Artistic Direction Designed to Appeal to the Masses
When it comes down to it, how NetEase decides to represent the characters in their game is largely up to them. We’re sure that there are some contractual obligations they have to stay true to character designs from Marvel, but other than that, no one should be able to police what they do.
So far, their choices are working out for them, with Rivals still having over 100 thousand players regularly signing in. How many of these players are signing in, or not, for the goon-worthy character avatars is impossible to say, but the game shows no sign of completely falling off.
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