Nintendo has recently purged a massive number of user-created levels from "Super Mario Maker 2," sparking a huge uproar in the community. According to international reports, over 1,000 levels have been removed, and players are speculating that this widespread deletion might be linked to a prominent creator who was previously banned for cheating.
The incident first surfaced in a report by Automaton, when players noticed several hundred levels suddenly vanishing. That number quickly ballooned to at least 1,000. Some of these deleted stages had been around for nearly seven years, almost since the game's launch. The common thread among them? They all used the "#TeamShell" tag.
Team Shell is a Discord community for "Super Mario Maker" players, where members use the #TeamShell tag to share levels, making them easier to find and play. However, Nintendo has a strict policy against in-level advertising, leading some players to believe these levels were deleted because the tag was deemed promotional content. Others argue that the tag is purely for community identification and has no commercial implications.
Adding another layer to the mystery, a different theory circulating in the community suggests the deletions might be connected to a player known as MT94. MT94 was once the second-highest ranked creator in the "Super Mario Maker" community but was later exposed for using multiple consoles to play their own levels and artificially inflate their ratings, ultimately leading to a ban. Some players now suspect MT94 might have mass-reported levels using the #TeamShell tag.
On the flip side, an anonymous user, LMT, has claimed responsibility for the reports, stating they used five Switch consoles to submit multiple reports, aiming to increase the volume. However, the true circumstances remain unconfirmed.
Given that "Super Mario Maker 2" has been out for years, many believe Nintendo is unlikely to investigate or restore the deleted levels. Furthermore, some players have reported not only having their levels removed but also their accounts banned, escalating the controversy and discontent within the community.
via： Automaton