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 platform's established rules against such content. NetEase Games, the developer of Marvel Rivals, has yet to comment on the use of character mods, including those depicting controversial figures.
Marvel Rivals, a recently released hero shooter, has quickly gained millions of players. Players are utilizing mods to customize character models, ranging from alternate skins based on Marvel Comics and films to even incorporating models from other games like Fortnite.
A Nexus Mods user created and uploaded a mod replacing Captain America's model with Donald Trump. This generated significant social media attention, with some players even seeking out a corresponding Joe Biden mod for matches. However, both the Trump and Biden mods are now inaccessible on Nexus Mods, suggesting they were removed.
Reasons for Removal:
Nexus Mods' 2020 blog post explicitly stated a policy of banning mods related to US sociopolitical issues. This policy, implemented around the time of the 2020 presidential election, aims to maintain a neutral platform.
Social media reactions were mixed. Many 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. It's worth noting that while many Trump-related mods have likely been removed from Nexus Mods, some still exist for other games like Skyrim, Fallout 4, and XCOM 2.
NetEase Games, the game developer, has not publicly addressed the issue of character mods or the removal of the Trump mod. The company is currently focused on addressing other game-related issues, such as bug fixes and resolving wrongful account bans.
