Marvel Rivals

Marvel Rivals is an upcoming hero shooter video game developed and published by NetEase Games in collaboration with Marvel Games. The game is set to release for Microsoft Windows, macOS, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S. The game will be free-to-play with a current line up of 21 characters from Marvel Comics.

Gameplay
Marvel Rivals will be a 6v6 player-versus-player, third-person hero shooter title. With the right combination of two or three characters, players can make use of "Dynamic Hero Synergy" which further maximize their playable character's combat efficiency. The game also features destructible environments, allowing players to alter the battlefield (overseen by Galacta) to their advantage.

As of June 2024, the following 21 playable characters have been officially announced: Spider-Man, the Hulk, Iron Man, Doctor Strange, the Black Panther, Loki, Star-Lord, Rocket Raccoon, Groot, Mantis, Namor, Peni Parker, Magik, Luna Snow, Storm, Magneto, the Punisher, the Scarlet Witch, Hela, Venom, and Adam Warlock. Additionally, two locations have been confirmed for the game, those being Yggsgard, a fusion of Asgard and Yggdrasil, and Tokyo of 2099. The game has three modes: Convoy, Domination, and Convergence.

Plot
The story follows a hostile meeting between Doctor Doom and his heroic 2099 counterpart. This causes multiple universes to merge in the 'Timestream Entanglement', which causes new worlds to be created. This causes heroes and villains across the multiverse to fight one another with the main goal of defeating both Doctor Doom variants before one claims victory over the new worlds.

Playable

 * Adam Warlock
 * Black Panther
 * Doctor Strange
 * Groot
 * Hela
 * Hulk
 * Iron Man
 * Loki
 * Luna Snow
 * Magik
 * Magneto
 * Mantis
 * Namor
 * Peni Parker
 * Punisher
 * Rocket Raccoon
 * Scarlet Witch
 * Spider-Man
 * Star-Lord
 * Storm
 * Venom

Non-Playable

 * Doctor Doom
 * Doom 2099
 * Galacta

Development and release
NetEase Games has established a specialized team in Seattle, dedicated to game and level design, to collaborate with their team in Guangzhou, China on Marvel Rivals. The game is currently being developed by NetEase Games, which had also developed two Marvel games prior to Marvel Rivals: Marvel Super War (2019) and Marvel Duel (2020). Jay Ong from Marvel Games described Rivals as one of their "most ambitious game development projects".

Marvel Rivals had a closed alpha test accessible to the public lasting ten days, from May 10–20, 2024. Players could earn permanent rewards transferrable to the game's final release through gameplay. Included rewards were an exclusive alpha tester title and a playable skin for the character Scarlet Witch, both earned through the test's dedicated battle pass. Additional permanent rewards were the "Dawn of Legends" title, gained from placing Top 32 in the game's eponymous alpha tournament, and an in-game spray decoration, gained by playing with/against a game developer during the playtest.

NetEase received backlash during the alpha playtest when streamer Brandon Larned called out the company on social media for including a non-disparagement clause in the contract given to content creators who had access to the alpha test, barring reviews from saying anything negative about the game. Following the controversy, NetEase apologized and stated it would be revising its contract to be more creator-friendly.

A closed beta test for Marvel Rivals is expected to take place from July 23 to August 5, 2024 for both consoles and PC.

Marvel Rivals will be free-to-play from its initial release. Though the game was set to release for Windows and macOS via Steam and Epic Games, NetEase Games had stated that it is exploring potential releases on other platforms. During Sony's State of Play held in May, the game was revealed to come for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S, as well as its upcoming beta playtest.