The rise of Marvel Rivals has been nothing short of incredible. After all, it went from “just another team shooter coming out” to being one of the most-played games on the market. It’s a title that so many fans are talking about, mainly because there have been about 30 million players in the game since its launch! NetEase, by its own admission, worked incredibly hard to make the roster pop and ensure its gameplay styles and tactics worked well with what the team wanted to do. Just as important, the dev team wanted to keep new characters coming at a good clip via their seasonal content.
The first half of the first season came out in January, and it brought Reed Richards and his wife, Sue Storm, into the game, complete with some “unique” alternate skins. However, the other two members of the Fantastic Four, Johnny Storm and The Thing, were also teased early on. Now, via a blog post, NetEase has confirmed that the two characters and other parts of the Season 1 content will drop on February 21st.
While a breakdown of what Johnny and The Thing will be like in-game hasn’t happened yet, you can expect videos showcasing their skills soon enough, as that’s what the team did with previous characters. However, those aren’t the only changes coming to the game when the 21st arrives. For example, if you’re at a certain rank, you’ll get some rewards:
“The first half of Season 1 will conclude on February 21, 2025 at 8:00 (UTC+0), after which all ranks will be locked in. Players at Gold rank or above (season high) will receive a costume reward, and players at Grandmaster rank or above along with the Top 500 will obtain Crest of Honor.”
To that end, once the second half of the season begins, everyone’s ranks will be reset. However, the drops won’t be an entire “return to zero” kind of thing:
“Based on your standing at the end of the first half of Season 1, prepare for a drop of four divisions. For example, if you ended the first half of Season 1 at Diamond I, you’ll start the second half at Platinum II.”
The NetEase team promises to “tune things” in Marvel Rivals based on player feedback, so these drops might be less severe next season, or they could increase if fans feel the need to balance things even more. Either way, it’s clear that fan feedback is being taken into account, which everyone should appreciate.
