Marvel Rivals is white hot right now, and it’s not showing any signs of slowing down. It hit a peak of 480,000 players on Steam the weekend after it launched and has managed to maintain an average of 400,000+ every day for a full month. It’s sitting comfortably in the Top 5 categories on Twitch, and in-game clips are still dominating social media. When Season 1 kicks off this Friday, Rivals will likely kick into a whole new gear.
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Friday will see two new characters added to Rivals, Mister Fantastic and Invisible Woman, as well as a new convoy map called Empire of Eternal Night: Midtown and a new arcade game mode called Doom Match, which has its own new map, Sanctum Sanctorum. Along with the usual new season trappings like battle passes, skins, and balance updates, this is one of the biggest seasonal updates I’ve seen in any hero shooter – and that’s just the first half.
Marvel Rivals’ First Season Is Massive
In February, Rivals is adding the two remaining members of the Fantastic Four, The Thing and Johnny Storm, as well as another new map, Empire of Eternal Night: Central Park. Together, the four characters and two maps help to tell Season 1’s Dracula-centric storyline, Eternal Night. This is a frankly outrageous amount of content for one season, setting a precedent that players will expect for future seasons to come.
Admittedly, The Fantastic Four vs. Dracula isn’t the most compelling setup for Rivals first season. Neither camp is particularly popular among non-comic fans (at least until Fantastic Four: First Steps comes out this summer) and Dracula isn’t even a typical villain of the quartet. A Midnight Suns crew of Blade, Ghost Rider, Nico Minoru, and Werewolf by Night may have been a more appropriate (and exciting) team for a Dracula story. Still, beggars can’t be choosers when you’re getting four characters, three maps, and a new game mode in the same season.
I totally get the concept of striking while the iron is hot. Marvel Rivals has a massive player base right now and the best way to keep them is to feed them lots and lots of new content. I also see the value of adding the entire Fantastic Four as a team, and why it may not have worked to spread them out over multiple seasons, but frontloading a live service game like this has led to dire consequences for other games. It’s a tricky thing when a game starts out so strong that there’s nowhere to go but down.
Don’t Expect Every Season To Be This Big
The developers aren’t being shy about this fact. In a recent Dev Vision video, creative director Guangguang explained that Season 1 has “double the playable content of a regular season,” a decision that was made in order to accommodate the entire FF team. In its marketing for the new season, the developers are already trying to get out ahead of future complaints by telling us not to expect this much content from future seasons. But people will, and they’ll complain when they don’t get it even though they’ve already been told they won’t.
We saw a similar rollout with Multiversus, which had a strong, character-packed first season before quickly going into maintenance mode before it was pulled offline entirely for a full year. I don’t expect Marvel Rivals is going to jebait us with another “it was a beta the whole time!” move, but this is a cautionary tale about a game extending too far too early.
If Season 1 is in fact a double-sized season, there isn’t anything to worry about. Getting two new characters and a new map every season would still be more than any other hero shooter out there. That fact is cause for concern on its own, but Rivals’ move-fast-break-stuff philosophy makes me think it might actually be able to pull it off.
Marvel Rivals is a Super Hero Team-Based PVP Shooter!
Assemble an all-star Marvel squad, devise countless strategies by combining powers to form unique Team-Up skills and fight in destructible, ever-changing battlefields across the continually evolving Marvel universe!
A Deep and Varied Marvel Roster
Choose from a vast array of fan-favorite and cult-classic Marvel Super Heroes and Super Villains from across the Avengers, Guardians of the Galaxy, X-Men, and many more from across the Marvel Multiverse.
Fast and Fun 6v6 Action with Ever-Changing Game Dynamics
With intricate environments, fast-paced gameplay, and ever-changing battlefields, there’s never a dull moment in Marvel Rivals! Battle as Super Heroes and Super Villains with incredible abilities and combine your powers to bring unexpected fun to the battlefield in a matter of seconds.
Dynamic Hero Synergy
Coordinate unique combinations between characters to ignite surprising Team-Up Skills! Unleash the synergy of combined superpowers and invent new tactics that can turn the tide of combat. Ride on Groot’s back as Rocket Raccoon to take on your enemies as a dangerous duo, unleash Gamma energy as Hulk to charge Iron Man’s armor for massive damage, and so much more!
Creative Environment Destruction
Tear your way through iconic Marvel worlds across destructible environments! From Asgard to the Tokyo of 2099, use superpowers to alter these environments, reshape the terrain, and craft a strategic advantage on the battlefield! Take cover to dodge attacks or use makeshift weapons to strike down enemies. Players will find countless ways to utilize the environment to claim victory!
Continually Evolving Universe and Robust Post-Launch Updates
The Marvel Multiverse brings infinite possibilities! Each seasonal drop will introduce new Super Heroes to the battlefield along with challenging and diverse maps! Unlock new content to implement across various gameplay strategies while experiencing thrilling action and endless possibilities in these adventurous team battles!