Marvel Rivals introduces emojis – here’s how they work

In the Season 2.5 update for Marvel Rivals, a brand-new emoji system was introduced, allowing players to express themselves with adorable emojis. This doesn’t affect gameplay, but it’s a cute feature that creates a new way for players to communicate. It’s also a feature that could easily be expanded on in the future, so it’s easy to see why developers NetEase introduced them. 

We’re going to be looking at emojis in Marvel Rivals more closely to see how they work and how players can unlock and equip them. 

Emojis in Marvel Rivals are simple emoticon cosmetics that players can use during a match to communicate with other players. Emojis will pop up in a bubble above the player’s head when used. They will also appear in the text chat box. While they do not affect gameplay or character stats, they are a fun way to communicate with others in a match. 

Emojis work via the communication wheel in Marvel Rivals. To equip emojis to the communication wheel, players need to navigate to the Heroes tab on the main menu. Once there, select a hero and scroll to the Cosmetics tab. In the Cosmetics tab, click on Emoji to see the available emojis. You can then equip the emojis that you want onto the communication wheel. 

Players can choose to apply the emoji selection to all heroes so that every character will have the same emojis equipped to the communication wheel. If you’d rather select different emojis for every hero, untick the Apply To All box in the bottom left corner of the screen.

Once the emojis are equipped, players can use them during a match. The communication wheel can be accessed quickly by pressing the left directional button on the D-pad when on console or by pressing the “T” key on a PC (this is usually the default PC key, but if you aren’t sure your key bindings are, be sure to check them). 

Navigate to Emojis, and you will be able to see the communication wheel with your selected emojis equipped. All you need to do is hover over the emoji you want to use and click on it to use it during a game. 

At the time of writing (June 2025), there are only a handful of emojis available, which are as follows:

The Basic Emoji Bundle and the Jeff Emoji Bundle are currently only available via the Combat Chest in-game system. The Combat Chest offers rewards for players as they complete games, though some rewards can only be accessed via the Premium Combat Chest, which costs Lattice to unlock. 

The Jeff Emoji Bundle is the first reward in the Combat Chest, though it is only available with the Premium, paid-for version. The Basic Emoji bundle is the 22nd reward in the Combat Chest, and it is available with the free version. All players need to do is play games and make their way through the tiers of the chest to unlock the basic bundle. 

The Acceptable and Think, Human Ultron emojis are currently only unlockable via the new Ultron’s Battle Matrix Protocol experimental gameplay mode. Players need to complete matches to earn the Acceptable emoji, but they need to rack up 2,000 points if they want to unlock the Think, Human emoji. 

Currently, these are the only ways players can unlock emojis in Marvel Rivals. It seems as though the developers are trying to make them a cosmetic that can be earned by playing games and completing challenges rather than by paying up front. The only exception to this is the Jeff Emoji Bundle, which is locked behind the Premium Combat Chest. However, the cost of the Combat Chest isn’t too pricey, though it will require players to hand over some Lattice to unlock it. Hopefully, NetEase will continue to make emojis an accessible cosmetic rather than one that has to be paid for. 

Emojis make for a fun way to communicate with teammates and other players during a Marvel Rivals match. The emojis mentioned above are only the first to be introduced to Marvel Rivals, but there are sure to be plenty more coming to the game in the future. 

There might also be alternative methods of unlocking emojis, as they are currently limited to the Combat Chest and Ultron’s Battle Matrix Protocol. It’s encouraging that most of the emojis can be earned, even if the Jeff emojis require the paid Premium Combat Chest to unlock. This suggests that any emojis that we see in the future will be more accessible than some of the other cosmetics in the game.