Marvel Rivals Dev Faces Social Media Pressure, Announces Major Season 3 Changes

NetEase Games is making significant adjustments to the post-launch roadmap for Marvel Rivals, aiming to enhance player engagement and maintain the live service momentum. The new strategy involves shortening the duration of seasons and introducing at least one new hero every month, a major shift from the existing content release schedule.

This update was highlighted in the Marvel Rivals Season 2 Dev Vision Vol. 5 video, which detailed the upcoming Season 2 launching on April 11. The season will debut with Emma Frost as the new Vanguard, followed by Ultron mid-season, whose class will be disclosed nearer to his release. Both characters are set to bring fresh abilities to the game, setting the stage for more significant changes starting in Season 3.

In Marvel Rivals Season 3, which does not yet have a confirmed release date, NetEase plans to reduce the length of seasons from three months to two. This adjustment will allow for quicker major content updates without altering the commitment to introduce a new hero every half-season. Consequently, the time between hero releases will be considerably shorter after Season 3.

Marvel Rivals' creative director, Guangyun Chen, elaborated on these changes in the Dev Vision video, stating, "Since the launch of Season 1, we’ve been deeply contemplating how Marvel Rivals can continuously deliver fun and engaging experiences for you all." Chen acknowledged the pressure from social media discussions to keep the game as thrilling as it was at launch and emphasized NetEase's goal to keep the audience excited. The team aims to fulfill players' fantasies about Marvel Super Heroes by introducing new modes and a diverse roster of characters. More details on how these changes will impact players will be shared before Season 3's launch.

Chen concluded, "With our goal of keeping the audience’s excitement alive just like our opening months, the real adventure with Marvel Rivals is just beginning."

Recently, NetEase unveiled details about Marvel Rivals Season 2, which will transition from a vampire takeover theme to a new storyline centered around the Hellfire Gala. This shift will bring new outfits, maps, and characters, with further information to be disclosed in the coming weeks.

Marvel Rivals enjoyed a phenomenal launch in December, amassing 10 million players within three days. The game, a free-to-play superhero team-based PvP shooter, was released on December 6 across PC via Steam and the Epic Games Store, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X and S. On Steam, it achieved a peak of 480,990 concurrent players, and Season 1 in January saw an impressive 644,269 concurrent players, ranking it as the 15th most-played game ever on Valve's platform.

However, there has been a decline in concurrent players since then, possibly prompting NetEase's roadmap overhaul. Despite this, Marvel Rivals remains highly popular and is among Steam's most-played games. The upcoming Season 2 and Season 3 are expected to reinvigorate player interest.

For more insights into Marvel Rivals, check out the patch notes for update version 20250327 and learn why Disney decided to abandon the concept of a Marvel Gaming Universe.