Marvel Rivals is getting a big ol’ snow-covered update for the holidays, and it adds what appears to be a blatantly Splatoon-inspired mode as well as various themed skins for its characters.
NetEase lifted the lid on Marvel Rivals’ holiday festivities in a trailer largely featuring the fan-favorite character Jeff the Shark. The ‘Winter Celebration, Joyful Jubilation’ event kicks off on December 19 at 11pm PST – that’s December 20 at 2am EST and 7am GMT.
The biggest highlight is a new, limited-time mode called ‘Jeff’s Winter Splash Festival’, which looks like something very similar to Splatoon in which teams of four compete against each other to cover a greater share of the ground and surfaces in slime… except here it’s snow instead of slime. It seems you’ll be limited to playing as only Jeff the Shark for the mode, but you’ll have full access to his suite of abilities, so you’ll still be able to chew up your foes and spit ’em out – they’ll just all be other Jeff the Sharks.
And what would a holiday party be without a few costumes? Marvel Rivals’ winter event will let you dress up for the season, and Groot has massive main-character energy. Sure, Jeff’s scarf, ski goggles, and earmuffs are absolutely adorable, and Venom’s glacial transformation is cool as ice, but Groot turns into a dang Christmas tree complete with lights and ornaments. NetEase definitely understood the assignment with that one.
Marvel and NetEase also teased a “special winter greeting card with gifts from Jeff,” as well as “a few surprises” that’ll be part of the winter event. We’ll just have to wait a few more days to see what those are.