With Season 2 of Marvel Rivals fast approaching, NetEase and Marvel have announced a restructuring of the game's seasonal model in the coming months. In Season 1, we were lucky to have received four heroes in a single season, but moving forward, they’re changing this approach by introducing two heroes per season: one at the start and another mid-season. (In Season 2’s case, it was Emma Frost first and Ultron second.)
This sounds great, especially for casual players who enjoy a diverse lineup of their favorite Marvel heroes, who are finally getting the spotlight they deserve in Marvel Rivals. This game amassed millions of players upon release. Plus, the game needed more Vanguards and Strategists.
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+ 3But looking at it long-term, this might not be sustainable for a game with a budding competitive scene. Releasing a new hero every month could introduce challenges to competitive balance. Keeping up with an ever-changing roster will become increasingly complex with more heroes added. This raises a hot topic within the Marvel Rivals community: power creep could become a serious issue.
If Marvel Rivals sticks with a one-hero-per-month model, the entire roster risks being plagued by power creep, especially for heroes who no longer fit the meta, causing heroes to be obsolete. While balancing is always a priority in hero shooters, there may come a point where introducing new heroes becomes a band-aid fix, overshadowing the need to rework existing ones.
click to enlarge+ 3Take Doctor Strange, for example. He was once a powerful presence in the past seasons, but now he has been nerfed into near irrelevance in Season 2. On the other hand, new additions like Emma Frost have quickly dominated players with her kit and iconic visual appeal. Adding more heroes could blur the line between meaningful balance and flashy new content, potentially disrupting the game’s long-term health.
While this might sound like bad news to some, it shows that Marvel and NetEase are committed to keeping Marvel Rivals alive and thriving. Player retention has remained steady since the launch, and this new “one hero per month” model might succeed in drawing more casual players into the fold. However, in a competitive scene, the situation is far more complicated.
click to enlarge+ 3The good news? NetEase can always pivot. If the monthly hero release model doesn’t work, they could adopt an approach similar to Blizzard’s: releasing heroes every other season, giving the game time to breathe and the meta time to adjust, instead of force-feeding new characters into every lobby.
There’s much to look forward to in Marvel Rivals over the coming months. This game feels too big to fail in a hero shooter that has already sparked a global phenomenon reminiscent of Overwatch. Here’s hoping that NetEase continues to keep a close eye on its thriving competitive scene as it's done before.
For more articles like this, take a look at our Features and Marvel Rivals page.