NetEase Games is making significant changes to the Marvel Rivals post-launch roadmap, aiming to keep the game's live service momentum strong. They plan to shorten the seasons from three months to two and introduce at least one new hero every month. This shift was announced during the Marvel Rivals Season 2 Dev Vision Vol. 5 video, which highlighted the upcoming Season 2 launching on April 11. The season will introduce new Vanguard, Emma Frost, at the start, followed by Ultron mid-season, whose class will be revealed later. These new heroes, with their unique abilities, are set to keep the game exciting for fans.
The real transformation in how heroes impact gameplay will begin in Season 3, which does not yet have a set release date. Creative director Guangyun Chen shared in the Dev Vision video that the team has been reflecting on how to maintain the game's fun and engagement since Season 1's launch. Social media feedback has played a role in pushing NetEase to keep the game as thrilling as it was at launch. Chen emphasized their goal to keep the audience's excitement alive, stating, "With our goal of keeping the audience’s excitement alive just like our opening months, the real adventure with Marvel Rivals is just beginning."
NetEase aims to fulfill players' fantasies about Marvel Super Heroes by introducing new modes and a diverse roster of characters. After extensive internal discussions and evaluations, they plan to adjust their systems to handle the increased content flow. More details on how these changes will affect players will be shared before Season 3's launch.
In a recent update, NetEase pulled back the curtain on Marvel Rivals Season 2, revealing a shift from the vampire takeover theme to the Hellfire Gala storyline. This new season will bring new outfits, maps, and characters, with more information to be disclosed in the coming weeks.
Since its launch in December, Marvel Rivals has been a massive success, reaching 10 million players in just three days. Available on PC via Steam and the Epic Games Store, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X and S, the game saw a peak of 480,990 concurrent players on Steam at launch. January's Season 1 further boosted its popularity, with 644,269 concurrent players, ranking it as the 15th most-played game on Valve's platform. However, player numbers have declined since then, prompting NetEase's roadmap changes. Despite this, Marvel Rivals remains a top-played game on Steam, and the upcoming Season 2 and Season 3 are expected to revitalize player engagement.
For more information on Marvel Rivals, you can explore the patch notes for update version 20250327 and learn why Disney decided to scrap an idea for a Marvel Gaming Universe.
