NetEase and Marvel Games have announced Marvel Rivals, a new team-based PvP shooter designed for players who enjoy fast-paced, third-person online battles. The game centers on 6v6 skirmishes where squads of Marvel characters take on each other in varied arenas. The collaboration aims to bring beloved heroes and villains from the Marvel universe into a competitive action format, delivering a fresh spin on hero-based shooters according to reports from the DTF portal. Marvel Rivals promises a distinctive blend of character-driven abilities and strategic team play that could appeal to fans of both Marvel lore and multiplayer action games.
In Marvel Rivals, each character carries a set of unique, stackable abilities that interact in synergistic ways. For example, one hero can empower a teammate by upgrading equipment, while another hero can form tactical partnerships with allies to unlock combined effects that tilt the battle in their favor. This create-a-combo approach is meant to encourage coordination, role specialization, and dynamic combat scenarios where planning and execution go hand in hand.
During the closed alpha phase planned for May, a roster of twelve heroes will be playable. Among them are Spider-Man, Black Panther, and Magneto, with more iconic Marvel figures expected to join in future builds. The developers indicated that the character lineup will expand beyond the initial twelve, potentially adding Iron Man, Doctor Strange, and additional beloved characters from Marvel comics, introducing fans to a wider array of combat styles and power sets.
The release date for Marvel Rivals has not been announced, but it has been confirmed that the game will launch on PC and will be offered as a free-to-play title. Details about a console version remain undisclosed. Steam pages for the project suggest that Russian localization will be available, signaling an intention to reach a broad international audience and support multilingual players as the title approaches release.
Meanwhile, a separate policy note mentions discussions in Russia regarding the development of domestic game consoles, reflecting broader industry considerations as publishers and developers explore regional hardware ecosystems and potential tooling for local markets. These moves highlight the growing importance of platform diversity and regional strategy in the global multiplayer game landscape, where publishers weigh performance, accessibility, and monetization models across different regions. Credit: NetEase Marvel Games press releases and industry reports.