While making a game with incredibly popular IP isn’t a guaranteed route to success (Marvel’s Avengers and Suicide Squad Kill The Justice League, I’m looking at you) it certainly gives any project a big head start. The concept alone of Marvel Rivals was enough to cause an eruption of hype, and its betas showed that it’s delivering in the gameplay department too. Now, just over a week out from its full launch, it’s ticked one final (but very important) box – it’s gone gold.
Looking to ruffle the feathers of games like Deadlock and Overwatch 2, Marvel Rivals could be a late contender as one of the best multiplayer games of 2024. Its summer beta achieved a peak player count of over 50,000 on Steam alone, but its full launch has the potential to blast past that number.
The free-to-play hero shooter is currently sixth in Steam’s list of the most wishlisted games, only topped by Path of Exile 2, Delta Force, Deadlock, Hollow Knight Silksong, and Monster Hunter Wilds. It’s a powerful signal that a tsunami of players could hit the game when the Marvel Rivals release date finally arrives next week, and with today’s announcement that it has gone gold (plus some recent reveals of new content and gameplay improvements) it’s in an incredibly strong position to capitalize on that flood.
While the historic significance of ‘going gold’ is somewhat redundant when you look at the games industry today, a publisher or developer confirming that its upcoming game is gold is the ultimate reassurance that no last-minute delays will occur and things are not being rushed right up to the wire.
While the beta had already created a lot of excitement, Marvel Rivals hasn’t rested on its laurels since it wrapped up. Between then and now, it’s confirmed that Moon Knight and Hawkeye will be joining the roster of free-to-unlock heroes to bring the grand total up to 28 Marvel Rivals characters – a really impressive number for a new hero shooter at launch. It’s also committed to showing all hero stats (and, at a later date, pick rates and win rates) for full gameplay transparency. And in recent days it’s even revealed three brand new maps – one set on the symbiote world of Klyntar, one set in Intergalactic Wakanda, and another that’s set in a Hydra base.
All of this combined with the fact that it’s totally free-to-play, then Marvel Rivals is highly likely to do some huge numbers. Marvel Rivals launches on Friday, December 6 on Steam and on consoles.
Until then, here are some other incredible free PC games to keep you occupied. Our list of the best superhero games also contains some brilliant titles to get you in the mood.
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