Marvel Rivals Dev Says It's Feeling Social Media Pressure to 'Keep the Game as Exciting as It Has Been Since December,' Announced Big Season 3 Shake-Up

NetEase Games is fundamentally changing its Marvel Rivals post-launch roadmap to shorten its seasons and deliver at least one new hero every month as it battles to maintain live service momentum with its players.

It’s a major update to the existing content release schedule that was teased during the new Marvel Rivals Season 2 Dev Vision Vol. 5 video. Included in the 15-minute upload were details about how Season 2 will introduce its new Vanguard, Emma Frost, at launch April 11, as well as Ultron, whose class will be revealed closer to his mid-season launch. Both promise to keep Marvel Rivals fans on their toes with new abilities, but the real changes to how playable heroes will impact matches truly begin in Season 3.

In Marvel Rivals Season 3, which is currently without a release date, NetEase will shift season lengths from being three months long to just two months. It means major content updates will progress rapidly without changing the team’s initial promise to drop at least one new hero every half-season. So, while you’ll have to wait a month and a half to play as Ultron after Emma Frost launches next week, that wait will be cut down significantly after the hero after that drops.

“Since the launch of Season 1, we’ve been deeply contemplating how Marvel Rivals can continuously deliver fun and engaging experience for you all,” Marvel Rivals creative director Guangyun Chen explained in the Dev Vision video. “During this time, several discussions on social media have certainly added some pressure on us to keep the game as exciting as it has been since December. To a certain extent, we agree.”

Chen went on to explain that NetEase wants Marvel Rivals “to fulfill everyone’s fantasies about Marvel Super Heroes,” and that means exploring new modes and flooding the scene with a dense roster of varied characters. Following what he called “extensive internal discussions and thorough evaluations,” NetEase will adjust its systems to account for the increased flow of content. More information on how this will affect players will be revealed before the launch of Season 3.

“With our goal of keeping the audience’s excitement alive just like our opening months, the real adventure with Marvel Rivals is just beginning,” Chen added.

NetEase pulled back the curtain on Marvel Rivals Season 2 just hours ago, revealing that it will soon swap out its vampire takeover theme in favor of a new storyline that focuses on the Hellfire Gala. That means new fancy outfits, maps, and characters are on the way, with more information primed to be revealed in the coming weeks.

Marvel Rivals was a smash hit when it launched in December, securing 10 million players in three days. NetEase’s free-to-play superhero team-based PvP shooter launched on December 6 across PC via Steam and the Epic Games Store, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X and S. On Steam the launch was particularly huge, with 480,990 concurrent players. January's Season 1 then drew an incredible 644,269 concurrent players, making Marvel Rivals the 15th most-played game ever on Valve's platform.

But those concurrents have been on a downward slide ever since, which may have sparked the drastic roadmap change from NetEase. Still, Marvel Rivals remains hugely popular, and is one of Steam's most-played games. The launch of Season 2 will no-doubt prove a shot in the arm, and again with Season 3.

For more on Marvel Rivals, be sure to check out the patch notes for update version 20250327 as well as why Disney decided to scrap an idea for a Marvel Gaming Universe.

Michael Cripe is a freelance contributor with IGN. He's best known for his work at sites like The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be sure to give him a follow on Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).