Marvel Rivals launches in only a few short weeks and, after giving daily updates on social media, they’ve released an in-depth video discussing the roadmap for release and beyond. The roadmap developer diary, led by Marvel Rivals Game Director Guangguang showed off what’s coming in Season 0 as well as how seasons will work from Season 1 onwards, how monetisation and Battle Passes will be implemented, updates to the game’s servers, and more.
Firstly, Marvel Rivals Game Director Guangguang spoke briefly about the 33-day reveal event on all of the game’s social media accounts. Each day, one of the starting 33 heroes is showcased alongside a new Legendary Skin and Guangguang confirmed that there are a few more heroes or villains to be revealed for the launch line-up. One, in particular, will have a fun team-up with the Hulk. At least one of these new Heroes will likely be a Strategist given that there have been no new Heroes of that class since the Beta whereas new Vanguard (Captain America) and Duelists (Bucky, Psylocke, and Moon Knight) have been confirmed.
Next, Guangguang gave us a look at the seasonal roadmap which will begin in the game’s first season, Doom’s Rise, which will go live when Marvel Rivals launches on December 6th. Season 0 will be a month-long endeavour where players can get their hands on the starting roster of 33 Heroes, 8 maps for Quick Matches and Competitive Modes, one map for the new Contest Mode, and the Practice Range.
Doom’s Rise (Season 0) will also kick off the wider Marvel Rivals narrative, centring on the cross-time rivalry between DR. DOOM and DR. DOOM 2099. Their clash has split the multiverse, resulting in four new Chronoverses, which will be the focus of the Rivals’ narrative: there’s the Techno-Dystopia of 2099, the Present timeline where evil waits in the shadows to strike, the Mosaic timeline where Space and Time are unstable and uncontrollable, and finally the Collapsing timeline where everyone, including the Gods, can die.
Season 0 is the launch season for Marvel Rivals and will act a bit differently to future seasons, which will begin when Season 1 starts in early January 2025. Starting from Season 1 onwards, seasons will last about 3 months (similar to seasonal timings in other Hero Shooters like Overwatch 2 or Apex Legends) and will add new content including new Heroes, maps, Team-Up Attacks (which they’ve confirmed will change each season), and maybe even some “new game modes”.
New Cosmetics for Doctor Strange, The Punisher, and Mantis
One of the final major topics addressed by Guangguang in this video was how monetisation is going to work in Marvel Rivals, which was a massive question mark given NetEase’s infamous history. Like most modern live-service titles, each season in Marvel Rivals will have a unique Battle Pass with exclusive skins and cosmetics to earn by playing the game and completing challenges: because Season 0 is much shorter than most other seasons, the Season 0 Battle Pass will have half the regular cosmetics available and be priced accordingly.
Alongside the Battle Pass, Guangguang also confirmed that there will be a Shop which will be updated regularly, likely at a weekly cadence like Fortnite or Overwatch 2. The costumes available will include those from Marvel Comics history, the MCU, those unique to the Marvel Rivals mythos, and more. Lastly, Guangguang assured players that they will never sell power or pay-to-win elements, something they’ve previously committed to by assuring that all Heroes will be free for all players, now and in the future.
Lastly, in response to requests for more and better servers, Guangguang confirmed that more work has been done in these areas. Marvel Rivals will have six server regions to choose from – North America, Europe, the Middle East, South America, and the Asia-Pacific – and you can choose a single or group of servers to queue into.
Bombastic Bag-Man Costume
Marvel Rivals, and all the Season 0 content, launches on December 6th 2024.
SOURCE: Marvel Rivals Dev Vision Vol. 1
