| Marvel Rivals | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Release Date | Gameplay & Story | DLC & Pre-Order | Review |
| Release Date | |
|---|---|
| December 6, 2024 Steam, Epic, XBXS, PS5 September 12, 2025 PS4 More Details |
|
| Genre | |
| Action, Shooter, Multiplayer | |
| Platforms | Price (MSRP) |
    |
Free-to-Play |
| Developer | Publisher |
| NetEase Games | NetEase Games |
| Number of Players | Age Rating |
| 36 (18v18 Online Multiplayer) | ESRB T |
| Time to Finish | Cross Platform Play |
| 5-15 Minutes per Game | Yes (Consoles Only) |
| Official Website | Official Website for Marvel Rivals |
Marvel Rivals Latest News
⚫︎ Marvel Rivals is set to launch its upcoming PVE mode, Blood Hunt, on April 23. This serves as a follow-up to a prison heist involving Spider-Man and Black Cat, with Dracula as the main villain to take on.
⚫︎ Marvel Rivals director teases more PvE content coming in the future. He also added that the hero-shooter is moving beyond its traditional 6v6 format and more into "moving anime experiences."
⚫︎ Season 7 of Marvel Rivals begins on March 20 UTC. White Fox will be joining the roster as a strategist.
⚫︎ NetEase Games will be instating "anti-throwing" measures to address player feedback regarding other players who sabotage competitive matches.
⚫︎ Marvel Rivals has released a roadmap titled "Path to Doomsday", which consists of events based on the Infinity Saga. Path to Doomsday is set to kick off in April and culminate in a grand Avengers: Doomsday-themed event on December 18, 2026.
⚫︎ NetEase and Marvel Games have announced that Marvel Rivals Assemble will be held at El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood on March 3, 2026. Players will get an exclusive glimpse at the 2026 roadmap during this event.
Marvel Rivals Overview
Marvel Rivals is the newest free-to-play competitive 6v6 hero shooter where two teams compete against each other in various game modes that center around defending and taking objectives. The game is being developed and published by NetEase Games, a well-known publisher of live-service games.
The gameplay is similar to that of Overwatch, Paladins, and Team Fortress 2, where two teams fight across different maps with distinct objectives in a variety of game modes. Marvel Rivals was released on several platforms, namely: PC (Steam, Epic Games), PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S. During the game’s closed beta, crossplay was supported across consoles, but PC players could only match with other PC players.
| Digital Storefronts | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steam |
Epic |
PS |
Xbox |
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| Free-to-Play | |||||||
Marvel Rivals Gameplay
Players will be able to choose a wide variety of 48 Marvel superheroes and supervillains to fit the composition of their team. What differentiates Marvel Rivals from other competitive team shooters is its fully interactive, destructible environment featuring well-known locations from the Marvel mythos. Another key difference the game has is "Team-Up Skills," which are synergistic skills between two heroes that incorporate the lore between several Marvel characters.
Currently, there are 4 playable game modes for the main Quick Match and Competitive playlist: Convoy, Convergence, and Domination, with Resource Rumble being a Quick Match exclusive mode. There are 16 maps for Quick Match and Competitive, with certain maps, such as Tokyo 2099: Spider-Islands and Yggsgard: Royal Palace, rotating in and out of the Competitive list.
Marvel Rivals has also added new game modes in the form of its Arcade playlist and seasonal content, such as the PvE Marvel Zombies mode and the 4v4v4 Jeff’s Winter Splash mode. The playable game modes in Rivals’ Arcade playlist include Conquest, Doom Match, Clone Rumble, 18v18 Annihilation, and Giant-Sized Brain Blast. The game has also added a 100-player non-combat social mode in the Times Square map.
Marvel Rivals Characters and Roles
The roster of playable heroes in Marvel Rivals includes popular Marvel characters such as Captain America, Doctor Strange, Thor, and more. They are also classified into their own roles, namely Vanguard, Duelist, and Strategist, and Multi-Role, which are the game’s way of balancing characters based on their identities and powers into a team-centric game. As of Season 7.0, there are 12 Vanguards, 24 Duelists, 11 Strategists, and 1 Multi-Role, for a total of 48 playable characters.
All heroes are unlocked and free to play upon starting the game. Each season in the game adds one or more brand-new characters per month, alongside new story updates, cosmetics, and game modes.
Marvel Rivals Reviews
Heroically Jank, But Has Potential
Marvel Rivals was received relatively well among players lucky enough to join the game’s different Closed Tests. Users from Reddit agreed that it reminded them of the early days of Overwatch, where character balance and gameplay were still rough around the edges. But the game’s overall visuals, animations, and presentation are its biggest assets, as it's presented in an amazingly sleek, detailed manner. Many have applauded the game’s redesigns of iconic heroes like Iron Man, Spider-Man, and the like.
One issue pointed out by prominent Overwatch content creator Flats_OW is the game's slow movement; players have noted that each character's base movement speed feels way too slow for a hero shooter. PCGamer has also pointed out that the gutted identities of certain characters also shoehorn iconic characters into roles that don’t necessarily fit them, like Magneto being forced to be a shielding tank as opposed to his identity as the Master of Magnetism.
During the game’s Closed Beta, players have also noted that they quickly lost interest in the game after a while, since there were only 3 playable maps. NetEase has already assured that there will be more maps at the game’s full release, which will hopefully satiate the player base.
Overall, Marvel Rivals has potential and is heading toward competing directly with the likes of Overwatch 2. Based on player feedback from the Closed Tests, it has the makings of something great and is already polished in its presentation. However, it still needs time to refine certain gameplay mechanics and character balancing.
Marvel Rivals Announcement Trailer
Marvel Rivals | Rivals 'Til the End | Official Launch Trailer
Marvel Rivals | Console Announce Trailer
Marvel Rivals - 'Rivals’ First Stand' | Official Announcement Trailer
Marvel Rivals System Requirements
PC System Requirements
| System Specs | Minimum | Recommended |
|---|---|---|
| Operating System | Windows 10 64-bit (1909 or newer) | Windows 10 64-bit (1909 or newer) |
| Processor | Intel Core i5-6600K or AMD Ryzen 5 1600X | Intel Core i5-10400 or AMD Ryzen 5 5600X |
| Memory | 16 GB RAM | 16 GB RAM |
| Graphics | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 / AMD RX 580 / Intel Arc A380 | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 (Super) / AMD RX 5700-XT / Intel Arc A750 |
| DirectX | Version 12 | Version 12 |
| Network | Broadband Internet connection | Broadband Internet connection |
| Storage | 70 GB available space | 70 GB available space |
| Additional Notes | Install the game on SSD drive for better experience | Install the game on SSD drive for better experience |
PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S
| System Specs | PlayStation 4 | PlayStation 5 | Xbox Series X|S |
|---|---|---|---|
| Resolution | 1080p 1440p (Pro) |
1440p (Standard), 1080p (HFR) PS5 Pro: 1800p (Pro), 1080p (HFR) |
Xbox Series X: 1440p (Standard), 1080p (HFR) Xbox Series S: 1080p |
| 4k Support | No | Yes | Yes |
| HDR Support | No | No | No |
| Frame Rate | 30 FPS 60 FPS (Pro) |
PS5: 60 FPS (Standard), 120 FPS (HFR) PS5 Pro: 60 FPS (Pro), 120 FPS (HFR) |
Xbox Series X: 60 FPS (Standard), 120 FPS (HFR) Xbox Series S: 60 FPS |
| Storage | 70 GB | 46.07 GB | 56.66 GB |
Marvel Rivals Trivia
⚫︎ Galacta, also known as Gali, was first revealed in a short comic run from 2009 to 2010 called Galacta: Daughter of Galactus and was included in an anthology written by Adam Warren and Hector Sevilla Lujan called The Marvel Assistant-Sized Spectacular.
⚫︎ Marvel Rivals marks the first console and PC video game appearance of Luna Snow, or the South Korean superhero and K-pop idol.
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