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It’s been just over a year since NetEase Games launched the enormously popular online hero shooter Marvel Rivals and the game has only grown over the ensuing months. The title has teams of heroes and villains from across the Marvel multiverse battling against each other as part of a cosmic chaos that dueling versions of Doctor Doom have unleashed on reality. While the core game revolves around objective-based 6v6 online combat, it has also unveiled new game modes across its run, thrilling tens of millions of players worldwide.
While in Los Angeles for The Game Awards 2025, where NetEase announced the sixth season for Marvel Rivals adding Deadpool and Elsa Bloodstone to the playable roster, Den of Geek sat down with the Marvel Rivals team. The developers reflected on the first year of the game’s lifecycle, including how they strategized building upon its launch foundations and keeping the experience fresh for players. Moreover, NetEase is not only committed to ensuring the game’s future remains bright, but are excited for players to see what the team is cooking up next.
“2025 was more of a warm-up period for us,” Marvel Games executive producer Danny Koo declares. “Next year, we’re going to have bigger plans. We’re not going to slow down. We’ve already planned more than a year ahead and I can’t wait for our players to see it.”
And what a warm-up it was.
In its first year, the game released five seasons of new content. This bolstered the playable roster from its launch number of 33 to 45, with two more formally announced and set to join the fight soon, along with hundreds of new costumes for the cast and new stages to duke it out in. But one of the big standouts from the year was a PvE mode based on the Disney+ animated series Marvel Zombies, that saw a small group of heroes blast through hordes of zombies while moving to defeat their undead leader, the Queen of the Dead. Timed not only with the animated series’ premiere but also in time for Halloween, the new game mode expanded what Marvel Rivals could and can be.
“We saw Marvel Zombies and knew it was a good story that we could collaborate with on the Marvel IP side,” explains NetEase Games publishing and marketing lead Yachen Bian. “A lot of players really loved the PvE mode. I also think that we chose very good timing. We made it for Halloween but it also was good timing for the lifecycle of the game. We provided players with something new that refreshed their experience for the first year.”
Koo notes that the team had considered creating a PvE mode for a while but couldn’t settle on the right narrative context until they watched a special advance screening of the animated series. Realizing the show’s concept fit their game’s ethos perfectly, the Marvel Rivals team was able to assemble a prototype of the Marvel Zombies game mode in about six months, experimenting with the new player skills for the PvE mode. This was followed by an 18v18 competitive mode which encourages players to try new playable characters and makes the gameplay even more fast-paced and frenetic as the larger teams do battle.
“In the next year, we want to provide more game modes,” Bian teases. “It’s why we have prototypes in the game, like PvE and 18v18. We want to give the players more choices of different game modes beyond the basic gameplay because your fundamental experience might be very different. When you’re fighting against zombies, it’s quite different from fighting against other people.”
Marvel Rivals is NetEase’s title with the largest global audience to date, with over 40 million players in territories from the Americas and Europe to Asia and Oceania. After initially promoting its launch at major gaming events throughout 2024, the development team has been positively overwhelmed by the rapidly growing community. This has only fueled the team to match the fans’ passion with their own dedication towards continuing to support the game and take it to new heights.
“That process has brought the team together even closer,” observes Koo. “It’s a lot of hard work and it always feels different and exciting. This game is releasing new content every week. Even my own team comes in every day asking what’s new today. Everyone’s excited. They want to continue to make this happen. Everyone wants to make this the biggest game possible.”
Judging by the team’s achievements and continued success after over a year in an increasingly crowded market, NetEase Games has taken great strides towards reaching this ambitious goal with Marvel Rivals. But with plenty more Marvel projects set to premiere and launch throughout 2026, you can bet that Marvel Rivals is going to reflect the ever-evolving state of Marvel as the game officially dives into its second year.
Developed and published by NetEase Games, Marvel Rivals is available now for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.
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