Marvel's Rivalry Heats Up

Marvel Rivals News Roundup

2025

January 14: Marvel Rivals' Season 1 success has led to the announcement of a new hero every six weeks. Each two-month season will feature two new heroes. Season 1 uniquely released two heroes per half: Mister Fantastic and Invisible Woman initially, followed by Human Torch and The Thing.

[Read more: Marvels Rivals will add a new hero every 6 weeks (VideoGamesChronicle)]

January 13: Developers have cracked down on mods, specifically custom skins used in online matches. Despite this, the modding community continues to find ways to incorporate modified character files.

[Read more: Despite Marvel Rivals' mod ban, fans of the hero shooter are dropping more custom skins than ever: “Modding Marvel Rivals lives on” (GamesRadar)]

January 13: The launch of Season 1, featuring the Fantastic Four, propelled Marvel Rivals to a new peak player count exceeding 600,000.

[Read more: Marvel Rivals Reaches Player Count Milestone Again Following Rollout of Season 1 (Game8)]

January 6: A large-scale ban wave inadvertently penalized some non-cheating players using non-Windows operating systems (Linux, Steam Deck). The bans were quickly reversed, and apologies were issued.

[Read more: Marvel Rivals Apologizes for Banning Non-Cheaters (Game8)]

January 6: Following the Season 0 holiday break, a Season 1 trailer showcased the new heroes and the Fantastic Four's battle against two versions of Dr. Doom.

[Read more: Marvel Rivals Season 1 details and first trailer released (VideoGamesChronicle)]

2024

December 17: Holiday-themed skins and game modes were released, featuring festive outfits for characters like Jeff, Venom, Groot, and Rocket.

[Read more: Marvel Rivals Winter Celebration Skins (MarvelRivals Twitter/X)]

December 11: While Marvel Rivals thrived, Overwatch 2 experienced a significant drop in Steam player count, falling to under 17,000 compared to Marvel Rivals' consistent 200,000+.

[Read more: Marvel Rivals Soars as Overwatch 2 Steam Player Count Falls (Game8)]

December 9: The near-simultaneous releases of Marvel Rivals and Path of Exile 2 resulted in record-breaking player counts for both games. Marvel Rivals peaked at over 480,000 concurrent players, while Path of Exile 2 surpassed 570,000.

[Read more: PoE2 and Marvel Rivals Sets Gaming World Ablaze with Successful Weekend Launch (Game8)]

December 6: A Fortnite collaboration was announced, allowing Epic Games Launcher players to earn the Rivaled Sailer Glider.

[Read more: Marvel Rivals x Fortnite collaboration (MarvelRivals)]

July 25: Marvel Rivals' beta significantly outperformed its competitor, Concord, achieving over 50,000 players within two days, compared to Concord's 2,000+.

[Read more: Marvel Rivals’ Beta Surpasses Concord’s Player Count in Just Two Days (Game8)]