The second half of Season 1 in Marvel Rivals will bring Human Torch and The Thing to the game, ing the two existing Fantastic Four . The second half of the season kicks off on February 21, 2025.

While both Human Torch and The Thing are confirmed, NetEase have not provided any further details on the two characters. They have promised new costume rewards for all Gold rank players, although they haven’t revealed what these will be yet either. There will also be balance adjustments. Details on all these things will be revealed via their social media channels at a later date.

However, another announcement made around the mid-season update has overshadowed the confirmation of Human Torch and The Thing. NetEase initially announced that all Marvel Rivals players would see a rank reset at the halfway mark, dropping them all down by four divisions. This led to outcry from the fanbase, which resulted in the decision being reversed. Players will only see a rank reset between seasons. While this was originally announced as a drop of six divisions, it’s not clear if this number will remain the same after the change.

With the addition of The Thing and Human Torch, Marvel Rivals will soon have the entire Fantastic Four as part of its roster. Both Mr Fantastic and The Invisible Woman were added at the start of Season 1.

Marvel Rivals is out now for PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. The second half of Season 1 begins on February 21, 2025.

The post Human Torch and The Thing Come to Marvel Rivals Soon appeared first on Siliconera.

The Spring Festival is the next seasonal event coming to Marvel Rivals, complete with new mode. It will feature three new costumes and the special, time-limited mode called Clash of Dancing Lions. The Spring Festival kicks off on January 23, 2025.

Clash of Dancing Lions is the new game mode at the heart of the Marvel Rivals Spring Festival. It is a 3v3 mode where players play soccer using their powers to steal possession of the ball. It’s set in an arena similar to Rocket League, although this is a more traditional car-free version of soccer. The winner will be the first team to reach the appropriate number of goals scored.

Here's a trailer going over the Marvel Rivals event and new mode.

As well as the new mode, costumes for three characters are also being added. The Spring Festival will give Marvel Rivals a lunar new year feel, and these costumes will reflect this. Star Lord, Iron Fist and Black Widow will gain the Lion’s Mane, Lion’s Gaze and Lion’s Heartbreak respectively, all based on Chinese festival lions. The Lion’s Mane will be immediately available as a reward for the Clash of Dancing Lions, although the other costumes will be added to the game in coming weeks.

The Spring Festival is the second seasonal event added to Marvel Rivals since its launch in December. The first event, the Winter Festival, featured a time-limited mode where Jeff the Landshark led a Splatoon-inspired battle.

Marvel Rivals is out now for PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. The Spring Festival begins on January 23, 2025.

The post Marvel Rivals Kicks Off Spring Festival With New Soccer Mode appeared first on Siliconera.

Jeff the Landshark is a divisive character among Marvel Rivals players. Some (like myself) believe him to be one of the most incredible things ever conceived, while others consider him an abhorrent affront to humanity. Whatever your opinions on the little guy, it's undeniable that his limited-time Winter Celebration mode is an absolute blast.

In Jeff's Winter Splash Festival, two teams of four Jeffs go fin-to-fin to blanket Yggsgard's Bifrost Garden in as much snow as possible. With a frosty beam replacing his regular primary fire, it's a battle to cover the most ground by the end of the three-minute timer. Jeff can still use his other abilities, allowing you to KO enemies, but his healing bubble becomes a grenade that coats the area. From diving underground to the vibrant colors, it's unapologetically Splatoon with sharks, and I love it.

If the concept alone wasn't enough, playing the mode enough earns you Jeff's adorable snow outfit for free. By completing specific challenges, you receive "Frost," used to purchase decorations for your in-game Christmas postcard. Gold Frost adds major decorations, while Silver Frost is used to customize each section to make your ideal card. The more decorations you buy, the more Holiday-themed goodies you earn. From an MVP animation to an emote and, of course, the Cuddly Fuzzlefin skin for Jeff.

Is Jeff's Winter Splash Festival a mode that completely revolutionizes Marvel Rivals? Not quite, but it does serve as a fun break from the chaos of regular matches. Unless you're seeking a break because you've been thrown off the map by Jeff more times than you can count. That happens a lot in this mode. However, the time it takes them to chomp you up and launch you can actually put them at a disadvantage. As simple as the mode is, it's enough to scratch that periodic Splatoon itch without dusting off the Switch. I mean that literally, as my yearly Switch recap shows I've only touched that console for four hours this year.

Marvel Rivals' first event has not only sparked hope for the game's future but also raised the bar for competition. Established live service titles have become a little too comfortable with recycling specific events with mediocre rewards in recent years. While we don't know for sure that it was the influence of Rivals, Overwatch 2 recently stepped up its game. Right now, players can earn three brand-new skins for free. Considering that the original trailer showcased these as shop skins, it's possible our little Landshark friend may have had something to do with it.

It goes without saying that Marvel Rivals has the benefit of being brand-new. Because of that novelty, every event will be fresh and exciting for the foreseeable future. But there are only so many times that I can play Mei's Snowball Offensive in Overwatch, bake the same cookies in Destiny 2, or rescue Metzen in World of Warcraft. It's lovely to have something new to enjoy this year, and it excites me to see Marvel Rivals potentially light a fire under its competition and benefit both itself and the games we love. Only time will tell if NetEase will keep up this momentum, but let's hope they do.

Marvel Rivals and its Winter Celebration event is free to play on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S.

The post Marvel Rivals’ Splatoon-Inspired Mode is Welcome in a Sea of Recycled Live Service Events appeared first on Siliconera.

Cartoonish visuals, slick, sans-serif fonts, and a roster of heroes encoming almost every role under the sun? You wouldn't know what hero shooter I'd be talking about on the market these days, or at least the ones that still exist. Marvel Rivals is Disney and Marvel's attempt into what many consider an oversaturated genre that had it's time in the sun nearly a decade ago. And while it does take cues from it's predecessors, namely Overwatch, it still manages to distinguish itself from it's different gameplay perspective, self-contained story, and wide cast of characters.

Marvel Rivals appeals to the casual player, which I've become over the course of a decade. While I had dedicated some hours to Overwatch during it's original release in 2016, and played a substantial amount of Valorant over the past two years, Rivals benefits from a lack of role queue and implicitly forced meta. Yes, a competitive mode does exist, which can prove frustrating to player that expect the compositions from hero shooters such as Overwatch to translate one-to-one in specific situations. But Rivals' large roster of characters means that you can flex between it's Vanguards, Strategists, and Duelists with ease and come out with an advantage to shut down enemy teams forcing choke points or refusing to swap.

For example, if the enemy team is solely focused on using Hit Scan characters like The Punisher and the Winter Soldier, you can swap to Doctor Strange or Captain America to shield your team from an aggressive spray of bullets. Or even utilize Cloak and Dagger's ability to blind opponents temporarily to get a foothold and push forward. Generally, there is always an answer to some tactic and I've found Vanguards that are capable of jumping into the backline can generally change the tide. Wolverine is excellent in this way, even if he can be hard to get a hang of due to just how much he moves around due to his kit which focuses on diving.

That said, there is a high barrier of entry to characters like Wolverine and Spider-Man specifically. I can't play Spider-Man for that reason, as he's too mobile and makes me feel sick, similar to Genji in Overwatch. But the third person perspective helps circumvent that for me in the case of Venom, which I would consider a "dive tank." It's that lack of enforced meta and loosely defined roles between the Vanguard, Sentinel, and Strategist that allow for Marvel Rivals to more or less carve out it's own space in what is already an oversaturated market. While being vastly different from Valorant, which is more akin to Counter-Strike, and Overwatch 2 being it's closest competitor, it has (for the time being) managed to carve out a space for those with a preference to the third person shooter — or the casual.

While playing with my dedicated group, which includes our very own GC Vazquez, one of the most common sentiments I heard was that regardless of the role you pick, you feel like you're doing some kind of damage. Which for some makes it feel like you're contribution to the team is more tangible. Strategists, which are Marvel Rival's version of healers, don't feel boxed in to just pocketing a DPS to make some kind of sizable impact on team fights. It felt good to play Jeff the Landshark (God's greatest or worst little solider depending on who you talk to, but arguably the best design in the game to date) or Cloak and Dagger and still pile on kills while chasing our Wolverine through stages to keep him alive in more frantic team fights. Especially as I had to content with destructible environments in the game's two different game modes; escort the payload or capture the point.

I also won't pretend Marvel Rivals is a perfect game, even if it is a very fun one. Because there isn't a focus on balance you can sometimes win super hard or lose at a staggering pace. Though I would chalk this up to team coordination. Sometimes a single player can impact a chance of walking away victorious (I have a 100% win rate on the Winter Soldier for example) but more often than not, swapping characters for counters and having that team synergy is going to be the most important, like any team game.

Marvel Rivals does have some team synergies available, with the Scarlet Witch impacting Magneto's basic attack and Rocket Raccoon allowing for the Winter Soldier to have unlimited ammo when in proximity to one of Rocket's skills. These aren't as important as they sound, since they tend to be circumstantial and can, again, be countered with the right team. It's just about your team willing to make those concessions and swap off characters that aren't working.

Because Marvel Rivals is a team game above all else, and as mentioned previously, you won't go far without coordination. You could be an incredibly skilled Iron Fist player (another character that can dive the backline to cause problems for the enemy team's strategists) but if you get shut down every time you dive, you're going to be useless in more important fights. And I genuinely believe it's due to Marvel Rival's lack of balance that allows for this. As the team isn't concerned with making sure every character works within specific parameters, but instead of the player fantasy of being the hero or villain you select.

Playing the Winter Soldier feels good, and his kit aligns with his character. Cloak and Dagger having a character swap that plays into their lore is cool. And sometimes the rule of cool wins out over everything else. As a game being fun, especially one that leans into such a heavy cooperative experience, will determine how long an audience is willing to engage with it.

This is what I'm most concerned about regarding Marvel Rivals. While it's rife with recognizable characters like Iron Man and Captain American, it still has some more niche characters like Jeff the Landshark, to appeal to different kinds of fans of Marvel's behemoth of an IP, I'm worried about future . The Battle is extremely generous and allows you to hold onto it to slowly work through rewards at your own pace, and skins are reasonably priced with all of the extra bells and whistles that come with it. But I have no idea what Disney and Marvel expect in of profits, and if they are unreasonable, I'm worried Marvel Rivals will shut down in a handful of years. Yes, the game has hit over 20 million players, which is extremely impressive, but if a good chunk of those players stop buying skins and Battle es, what will that mean further down the line.

It's that live service model that concerns me, above all else, when it comes to the future of Marvel Rivals and the kind of game it could eventually become. As it stands, it's a serviceable hero shooter, and perhaps the one I've had the most fun with in a very long time. It's easy to pick up and put down. The destructible environments make for unique level design and presents more ways to tackle obstacles. The large roster of character also helps with counterplay, and gives players a lot to work with. But who knows what kind of game it could be in six months, or even a year from now depending on who has a say in what.

Marvel Rivals is available for the PlayStation 5, PC, and Xbox Series X.

The post Review: Marvel Rivals Is Better Without Balance appeared first on Siliconera.

The voice actors in Marvel Rivals stand out as one of the game’s most prominent features, showcasing an impressive lineup of accomplished performers. This star-studded cast includes both industry veterans and fan-favorite actors reprising iconic roles.

All Voice Actors in Marvel Rivals 1p2f2g

Below is the complete cast:

Marvel Rivals Voice Actor Highlights 446419

Yuri Lowenthal returns to voice Spider-Man. A character he has become synonymous with through his acclaimed performances in Insomniac's Marvel’s Spider-Man series. His portrayal continues to bring Peter Parker’s wit and determination to life.

Fred Tatasciore's performance as Hulk demonstrates his mastery of vocal intensity. Tatasciore has voiced the Hulk in numerous Marvel projects. Steve Blum and Nolan North reprise their roles as Wolverine and Rocket Raccoon, respectively. Both actors are fan-favorites for these characters, and their seasoned performances bring consistency to Marvel Rivals.

Travis Willingham, known for voicing Thor across various media, also takes on the mantle of Doctor Doom in Marvel Rivals. His ability to balance Thor’s heroic charisma with Doom’s cold and calculating demeanor showcases his impressive range.

This diverse and talented voice cast brings a fresh energy to Marvel Rivals, while paying homage to established Marvel portrayals. Their work elevates the game, making it a standout experience for fans of the franchise.

Marvel Rivals is available for the PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.

The post Who Are the Marvel Rivals Voice Actors? appeared first on Siliconera.

Marvel Rivals is out now, which allows players to pick their favorite superhero or villain and battle it out against others in a beautiful third-person shooter. This game already has a massive roster of characters, but there are some new Marvel Rivals characters that we would like to see in the future.

Currently, there around 33 characters you can play as, which is honestly a pretty impressive number for a new game like this. That said, there are some notably missing characters in the lineup. It is a shame that there aren’t more X-Men or villains available. Here is who the staff here want to see show up next. Some of these because of their potential movesets and others because we just adore these characters so much.

Siliconera Speaks Up: New Marvel Rivals Characters We Need 1t3b2i

Please. I need Cyclops to so bad. I just think it would be neat. And that's all I really gotta say about that! -- Kazuma

I agree with Kazuma that this game seriously needs more X-Men and mutant representation. I’d second another X-Men and say I’d like to see Jean Grey, specifically, in her Phoenix form. For me, the Marvel supervillain I’d like to see the most in Marvel Rivals next would be Thanos. Thanos rose to popularity so quickly in the MCU and with some of the more obscure characters in Marvel Rivals, it is a bit surprising the guy who snapped half a galaxy away isn’t included. It would be ridiculous and hilarious to see how his moveset would work, especially if the Infinity Gauntlet is involved. -- Cody

Be sure to let us know in the comments below who you’d like to see show up next!

Marvel Rivals is available right now for free for PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.

The post Which New Marvel Characters Should Marvel Rivals Next? appeared first on Siliconera.

At Opening Night Live at gamescom 2024, the Marvel Rivals release date and Captain America and Winter Soldier gameplay appeared. The game will launch on the PS5, Xbox Series X, and PC on December 6, 2024.

Here is the new Marvel Rivals release date, Captain America, and Winter Soldier gamescom 2024 trailer. It begins with Wakanda being mentioned and Black Panther shown. From there, we get to see more of Captain America and Winter Soldier. First, Bucky gameplay comes up. After that, Steve takes the stage. The video closes with the confirmed release date for the title.

The trailer also included a number of promises and commitments at the end of it. Netease noted that the game will launch with every playable character unlocked. People won’t need to pay to unlock them or earn them via playing. It will also be free-to-play. The publisher noted this will apply past launch as well.

Seeing Captain America and Winter Soldier in Marvel Rivals marks two additional series staples. Others showed up as of late in the past few weeks and months. For example, a more obscure character named Jeff the Land Shark will be a part of it.

Marvel Rivals release date falls on December 6, 2024, and people will find it on the PS5, Xbox Series X, and PC via Epic Games Store and Steam.

The post Marvel Rivals Release Date Set, Captain America and Winter Soldier Shown appeared first on Siliconera.

As of August 2, 2024, China's National Press and Publication istration approved 15 new video games for import and publication. The report by Niko Partners, shared by Daniel “ZhugeEX” Ahmad, showed the list included Rainbow Six, Dynasty Warriors, Marvel Rivals, and a mobile game co-developed by Tencent and Square Enix based on Final Fantasy XIV. [Thanks, Niko Partners!]

This is the first official announcement of any kind that a mobile game or title based on Final Fantasy XIV was being developed. The eXputer forum Kurakasis shared a rumor in July 2024 stating a project is in the works. This is the first official confirmation that the game is both in development and co-developed by Tencent and Square Enix, following a 2018 agreement that the two companies would be working together in the future. When Ahmad shared the news on social media, the tweet specifically mentioned by Lightspeed Studios. The report does not list if the game is a spin-off or a full mobile version of the MMORPG that is playable on phones or tablets.

The other games being brought over, including the team-based multiplayer hero shooter Marvel Rivals and Paper Mario: The Origami King, are imports of products that are either out or are leaving open beta testing and entering full release. The Rainbow Six title, Dynasty Warriors 8 mobile adaptation, and the mobile Final Fantasy XIV game are the two entirely new titles.

Final Fantasy XIV and its newest expansion Dawntrail are available now on PC, Playstation 4, Playstation 5, and Xbox Series X/S. The FFXIV mobile game is apparently in development and headed to China.

The post FFXIV Mobile Game on List of Games Approved for China appeared first on Siliconera.

When Blizzard Entertainment had Overwatch playable to the general public for the very first time at Gamescom in 2015, I queued up for line with a swarm of attendees and waited for hours to get my hands on the game. I liked what I played. So much, in fact, that I played a healthy amount of the game when it first released. And I've been craving a similar Hero Shooter ever since. Marvel Rivals has more or less scratched that itch with it's 6-vs-6 formula and lack of Role Queue, reminiscent of the early era of Overwatch, but it's a shame I can't seem to get a Closed Beta key through the Twitch Drops campaign — because I would really like to play with my friends.

Mine is not an unpopular opinion on this matter. The Reddit is full of s complaining about how bad the roll-out for Closed Beta keys are, with bots swarming the redemption page every 5PM PST/12AM UTC. As of July 27, 2024 eBay is full of keys that can be purchased between the range of $30 to $100, which is steep for a Closed Beta. But given that you will be able to unlock an exclusive Venom skin, one that is reminiscent of his color scheme in Marvel versus Capcom 2, and the desire for players post-Closed Beta to want to show off their participation in this limited test, it doesn't surprise me that keys are being snatched up and sold for a profit.

I'll provide a quick breakdown of how these keys are acquired. You can watch any Marvel Rivals Twitch stream for an hour and be eligible to obtain a key. Keys are distributed through the Marvel Rivals website, assuming you're lucky enough to redeem one. Every time a new period of key distribution starts, the page where you can redeem your keys lags out. Sometimes it logs you out of your Twitch , which means you need to spend a few seconds or a minute logging back in, or you have to make it through a CAPTCHA. All of these things mean you are probably not getting a key to the Closed Beta.

If you are fortunate to get a key, then you can only redeem one key through the in-game client for the entirety of the Closed Beta. Keys also go particularly fast, with 20% to 14% being available to redeem maybe a minute or so after key redemptions go live. Which sucks. Because if you aren't on at the exact time redemptions refresh, you're probably not getting a key.

And playing Hero Shooters without your friends is no fun. I mean, I've definitely solo queued in Marvel Rivals enough to get me over half-way through the Battle and close to that Cyan Venom skin during my three days with the Closed Beta. But when even one of my friends also got access, I was having a lot more fun. And even more when two and then three were able to jump in. We were queuing together and figuring out team synergy. We were having fun and working together to box in enemies for me to swallow them up as Jeff the Shark and spit four opposing players off the map! It was great! And it required a lot of coordination to make happen. I'm sure you can do that through communicating in game with randoms, but there's a lot of fun to be had with friends.

These kinds of games have become social activities, ways for friends to spend time together overseas, or even just for a handful of matches to satiate their desire for carnage — or yearning for something like Overwatch that isn't Overwatch. That's me, I'm that person. And I want to be able to get my friends to in on the fun so they can also experience the really cool moments I'm experiencing in game. Because I want to drag them into this, and I think the way Closed Beta keys are being distributed is making that really hard, and even potentially leaving a bad taste in the mouth of those that can't participate.

I will probably play Marvel Rivals when it releases. It's my kind of slop. But I genuinely feel bad for people that have been looking forward to this, or even dedicated time watching streams that won't be able to participate. Because who knows, maybe they'll feel burned enough to just not play the game.

Marvel Rivals is currently in closed beta on PS5, Xbox Series X|S and PC.

The post Marvel Rivals Twitch Closed Beta Keys are Impossible to Obtain appeared first on Siliconera.

During the May 2024 State of Play, NetEase announced that Marvel Rivals will appear on the PS5 and PC. An Xbox Series X version was also confirmed later. This is the free-to-play multiplayer shooter that involves using different characters from Marvel comics. The closed beta will come to consoles and the PC in July 2024, and there will be an exclusive Scarlet Spider Spider-Man PS5 costume.

Like Overwatch, this is a team-based game. Each side has six players competing with multiverse characters to take down the Doom 2099 and traditional Doctor Doom characters. People will be able to use people from multiple Marvel comics. 

Here are some of the characters we can expect to see in the game at launch:

• Adam Warlock
• Black Panther
• Doctor Strange
• Groot
• Hela
• Hulk
• Iron Man
• Loki
• Luna Snow
• Magik
• Magneto
• Mantis
• Namor
• Peni Parker
• Punisher
• Rocket Raccoon
• Scarlet Witch
• Spider-Man
• Star-Lord
• Storm
• Venom

The Tokyo 2099 and Yggsgard maps are also confirmed as two locations in the game.

Here's the latest PS5 trailer:

In case you missed it, here was the first reveal trailer:

Prior to its launch, a Creator Hub program is available. There have also been tests ahead of its launch. The last one appeared in May 2024 and lasted for 10 days. 

Marvel Rivals will come to the PS5, Xbox Series X, and PC, and a new beta will arrive in July 2024.

The post Marvel Rivals Heading to PS5, Alongside PC (Update) appeared first on Siliconera.