- Primary Subject: Super Mario Maker 2 Level Deletion Controversy
- Key Update: Mass level removals linked to hashtag “advertising” rule and possible report abuse
- Status: Ongoing
- Last Verified: April 8, 2026
- Quick Answer: Nintendo is removing levels over hashtag use classified as “advertising,” but many believe mass reporting and automated moderation may be driving the situation.
The Super Mario Maker 2 community is facing major backlash after a wave of unexpected level removals surfaced online.
Initially seen as isolated cases, the situation quickly escalated, with reports now suggesting that hundreds, and possibly over a thousand, user-created levels were removed in a short period.
The situation becomes more confusing when you consider that many of these levels were not recent or problematic, having existed for years without ever being flagged.
Why Is Nintendo Deleting These Levels?
Nintendo has reportedly justified these removals under its long-standing rule against “advertising content,” but the way that rule is being applied is where most of the backlash is coming from.
Most of the affected levels appear to have one thing in common, which is the use of hashtags in their descriptions, such as #TeamShell or tags linked to specific creators.
These hashtags are commonly used by players to sort content, improve discoverability, and associate levels with particular groups or challenges.
For example, Team Shell is simply a Discord-based community where players share and discover levels, and the hashtag functions more like a label than any form of promotion.
Despite that, Nintendo appears to be treating these tags as advertising, even though there is no clear financial gain or external marketing involved.
Across ResetEra discussions and videos from DGR and PangaeaPanga, many are questioning how Nintendo continues to disrupt its own community, especially as the situation now affects both major creators and smaller ones alike.
This has sparked a wider discussion about whether Nintendo’s moderation approach is too rigid, especially in a game that depends entirely on user-generated content to remain active years after launch. Many players argue that actions like this undermine the communities that keep the game going.
Is Someone Behind the Mass Reports?
At the same time, there are increasing suspicions that this wave of deletions may not be solely due to Nintendo tightening its own enforcement.
Some evidence points toward the possibility that mass reporting played a major role as a user known as LMT has publicly claimed responsibility for reporting a large number of levels, allegedly using multiple Nintendo Switch systems to submit repeated complaints and make it seem like the reports were coming from different individuals.
This closely reflects an earlier incident with high-ranking creator MT94, who was banned for exploiting multiple accounts to influence rankings.
The association has made some players feel this may be driven by old tensions instead of strict enforcement of guidelines.
Could Nintendo’s System Be Automated?
While it’s hard to confirm how much these reports influenced the situation, the timing of the deletions has raised concerns, as many of the affected levels had existed for years without issue before being flagged all at once, suggesting Nintendo’s moderation may rely heavily on automation.
If that’s true, it suggests that a large number of reports alone may be enough to trigger removals without proper manual review, leaving the system open to abuse.
The impact of these deletions goes beyond simply losing levels. Some creators have reported additional penalties, including account restrictions or bans, especially if multiple uploads were flagged.
Since removed levels cannot be reuploaded once taken down, creators are effectively losing content they may have spent years building, with little to no way of recovering it.
This makes the situation more frustrating, since the consequences feel overly harsh and irreversible relative to the supposed violation.
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