Netease Games has finally revealed the launch date for Marvel Rivals.
Marvel Rivals will be releasing on December 6, 2024. It will be available on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Steam, and Epic Game Store. But, Netease has also made one blockbuster announcement.
As you might already know from the preview pic, Netease has promised that all of Marvel Rivals’ playable heroes will be “unlocked and free-to-play at launch and beyond.”
There is nothing that needs clarification here. If other live service or free-to-play games make their most attractive and popular characters available behind a paywall, or worse, rollable under gacha rules, Marvel’s mightiest heroes are just going to be available anytime you want to start playing.
It’s a bold move in so many ways, but mainly because Marvel is definitely near the top echelons of pop culture franchises. This definitely guarantees that fans will be running to play this game at launch, but what about the future? There will be more heroes, sure, but what we mean is Netease Games will have to prove their mettle as a developer in time.
It won’t be enough to be a decent developer, or even a really good one. They are going to have to actually match what Epic Games, Krafton, Riot Games, etc are able to do to keep their audiences returning.
We know the first thing in everyone’s mind is that this hero shooter is competing with other hero shooters, like Overwatch 2. But really, everyone is fighting for attention from live service in general.
Netease has a decent chance to make their own mark with this incredible decision. After that, their future depends on how good they are at making games, and the key choices they do make on how they will monetize this title.
Of course, they announced this with a new trailer, that offers us some glimpses at even more lore, and of course, new playable characters. It seems that this Black Panther has brought his Wakanda to the vast reaches of space, but their glorious empire faces threat from a hypnotized Winter Soldier. Of course, coming to Wakanda’s defense is Captain America, vibranium shield in tow.
The trailer also gives us hints that Dr. Doom is contemplating the symbol of HYDRA, though we don’t hear him speak. Are they allies or enemies? Are we supposed to conclude that Hydra controls Winter Soldier right now, or do they have darker plans that we have yet to see? And does it mean we’ll get to play someone unsavory, like Baron Strucker? Why not someone like MODOK instead?
We’ll see if Netease shares their secrets at launch. In the meantime, you can check out the trailer below.
