Marvel Rivalsalready features several of Marvel Comics' more obscure characters, like Jeff the Shark and Squirrel Girl, but NetEase hints that more strange heroes and villains could be on the way down the road. For now, Season 3 ofMarvel Rivalsis starting on July 11 and will add the highly anticipated vampire hunter Blade, as well as the freshly revealed Phoenix to the game’s ever-growing roster.
Perhaps one of the biggestMarvel Rivalschanges is its seasons being shortened to two months, down from three, starting with this upcoming third season. Each season ofMarvel Rivalsadds two new playable characters, except for Season 1, which addedall members of The Fantastic Four. The first character is added at the start of each major update, with the second joining halfway through. With two-month-long seasons at play, this means that a new character is expected to joinMarvel Rivals' roster every month. Luckily, NetEase is working with one of the richest wells of comic characters ever in Marvel and won’t be running out of ideas anytime soon.
Whenspeaking with VideoGamer,Marvel Rivalsdirector Guangyun Chen expressed the freedom NetEase has been given to license any Marvel hero or villain it wants for its popular third-person hero shooter. Chen mentionedMarvel Comics' long and rich 85-year historyand the team’s desire to bring in more off-the-wall characters like Squirrel Girl and Jeff the Shark to the game.
Marvel Rivals Can Add Any Hero or Villain From Marvel Comics
NetEase didn’t hesitate when it came to addingMarvel’s most popular heroes everat launch, like Spider-Man and Wolverine, and there will likely be other massive names to come. However, it will be interesting to see what other strange, relatively lesser-known characters stumble their way ontoMarvel Rivals' roster. Characters like Howard the Duck, Beta Ray Bill, and Hellcow come to mind. Perhaps even Toad from the X-Men’s orbit is on the table. It’s good to know that NetEase has the entire Marvel Comics Universe to pull from, but the real challenge is going to be creating unique and impactful ability kits for each of these characters that stand apart from the rest. While Chen’s comments are exciting, NetEase may avoid adding characters like Miles Morales or Rhodey for this very reason.
Season 3 ofMarvel Rivalsis set to begin on July 11, with Phoenix kicking things off as the newest playable character. It’ll be Blade’s time to shine just a few weeks later at the midseason point, around the beginning of August. Since the season revolves aroundSymbiote God Knull as the main villain, several heroes like Captain America and Jeff the Shark have been given sleek black Symbiote skins. Along with Spider-Man, Mister Fantastic, Invisible Woman, and The Thing’s Future Foundation suits, there are plenty of fun and interesting cosmetics for Marvel fans to be excited about this upcoming season.
