Marvel Rivals Season 2 is throwing one heck of a party with its newly revealed Hellfire Gala theme, and developer NetEase has released a new cinematic trailer showing off some of the sharp new looks players will likely be able to earn as part of the Season 2 battle pass.
The Hellfire Gala, hosted by the elite, wealthy, and powerful Hellfire Club, has become a recurring event in the Marvel universe–one that brings together mutants, superheroes, and the rich and famous for a night of top-tier fashion and secretive plots.
In Marvel Rivals Season 2, which begins April 11, the mutant Emma Frost is hosting the gala on the mutant island nation of Krakoa as a way of creating a temporary truce between the constantly fighting heroes and villains of the game’s alternate Marvel universe. But every good party also has an infamous party-crasher, and in this case it’s none other than the genocidal AI created by Hank Pym (aka Ant-Man)–Ultron.
NetEase hasn’t explicitly stated which new playable heroes will be added to Marvel Rivals Season 2, but judging from the trailer and artwork, it seems clear Emma Frost and Ultron will be joining the battle. One character, likely Emma, will join the roster at the start of the season, while the other will join midway through Season 2, if NetEase’s release schedule stays consistent with Season 1. NetEase has previously stated it aims to release two new characters per season (though Season 1 introduced all four of the Fantastic Four).
While the new characters are obviously the star of the gala, the season’s theme is also a great excuse to have all kinds of costumes that give the game’s heroes and villains an excuse to dress to the nines. The Hellfire Gala has become known for its killer looks and incredible fashion, and there is no shortage of iconic Hellfire Gala outfits from Marvel Comics history for NetEase to pull from and add to the game either as part of the Season 2 battle pass or a separate purchase in the game’s shop.
Marvel Rivals’ latest balance update brought some much-needed buffs to the game’s newest DPS hero, the Human Torch, alongside some tweaks to Iron Man and Cloak and Dagger. The game continues to be among the top-played games on Steam. NetEase announced shortly after Marvel Rivals’ launch that 20 million players had played the free-to-play hero shooter.