Marvel Rivals’ skin customization ‘controversy’ feels like some forgot the game is designed to make money
Marvel Rivals players are up in arms about the deployment of the game's new color customization option, which has dominated online chatter over the past few days, and I honestly think it's a good thing. When one of the larger controversies four months into a live service game's lifespan is a lack of color customization options or an issue with managing expectations, the title is doing quite alright in the grand scheme of things. Image via NetEase Games When NetEase Games announced a costume recolor option coming to the game in season three, players' minds went into overdrive. While I do think that adding another currency to the game in Unstable Molecules is a misstep, I also think that players need to remember that a free-to-play title is indeed designed to make as much money as possible. NetEase did such a great job of creating goodwill in its player base early on with features like battle passes that don't expire, earnable premium currency, and fairly priced skins, that the costume customization feature not being what some were hoping for feels like a bigger deal than it is. This issue proves that no game, developer, or publisher is perfect. Marvel Rivals isn't, and never was going to be, either. But it entered the market with only direct-purchase cosmetic microtransactions, and that's already a good start for most F2P titles in 2025, so anything that wasn't as positive or popular a decision was bound to make waves at some point. The new costume recolors are only available on four skins right now (Luna Snow's Mirae 2099, Magik's Punkchild, Psylocke's Vengeance, and Winter Soldier's Revolution), and more will be added over time. But the need to convert yet another currency from real-world currency to purchase these recolors is pretty annoying. That's it. That's all there is when it comes to actual, genuine problems with the new feature. Players expecting a fully customizable skin palette for heroes or for the recolors to be free were caught up in the vibes and had no reason to think this way. It wouldn't make sense from a business standpoint, at all, to be that generous. But again, maybe that's on NetEase for trying to garner such positive favor in its players early on that its community expects everything to be amazing all the time. https://www.reddit.com/r/marvelrivals/comments/1k1lid9/i_think_this_is_what_we_imagines_when_they/ Not every decision NetEase makes about Marvel Rivals will feel like an evolution in F2P fairness. If it bugs you, then let the devs know or move on to another title. However, with the game as popular as it is, the future will likely feature more downs than ups as further features and additions to monetization are rolled out over time to keep profits on the rise. In the end, we're all on Marvel Rivals to enjoy the gameplay, buy some scantily clad costumes, and live out our superhero dreams. Just don't expect it all to be as smooth as the launch period has been. The post Marvel Rivals’ skin customization ‘controversy’ feels like some forgot the game is designed to make money appeared first on Destructoid.
Marvel Rivals players are up in arms about the deployment of the game's new color customization option, which has dominated online chatter over the past few days, and I honestly think it's a good thing.
When one of the larger controversies four months into a live service game's lifespan is a lack of color customization options or an issue with managing expectations, the title is doing quite alright in the grand scheme of things.
When NetEase Games announced a costume recolor option coming to the game in season three, players' minds went into overdrive. While I do think that adding another currency to the game in Unstable Molecules is a misstep, I also think that players need to remember that a free-to-play title is indeed designed to make as much money as possible.
NetEase did such a great job of creating goodwill in its player base early on with features like battle passes that don't expire, earnable premium currency, and fairly priced skins, that the costume customization feature not being what some were hoping for feels like a bigger deal than it is.
This issue proves that no game, developer, or publisher is perfect. Marvel Rivals isn't, and never was going to be, either. But it entered the market with only direct-purchase cosmetic microtransactions, and that's already a good start for most F2P titles in 2025, so anything that wasn't as positive or popular a decision was bound to make waves at some point.
The new costume recolors are only available on four skins right now (Luna Snow's Mirae 2099, Magik's Punkchild, Psylocke's Vengeance, and Winter Soldier's Revolution), and more will be added over time. But the need to convert yet another currency from real-world currency to purchase these recolors is pretty annoying. That's it. That's all there is when it comes to actual, genuine problems with the new feature.
Players expecting a fully customizable skin palette for heroes or for the recolors to be free were caught up in the vibes and had no reason to think this way. It wouldn't make sense from a business standpoint, at all, to be that generous. But again, maybe that's on NetEase for trying to garner such positive favor in its players early on that its community expects everything to be amazing all the time.
Not every decision NetEase makes about Marvel Rivals will feel like an evolution in F2P fairness. If it bugs you, then let the devs know or move on to another title. However, with the game as popular as it is, the future will likely feature more downs than ups as further features and additions to monetization are rolled out over time to keep profits on the rise.
In the end, we're all on Marvel Rivals to enjoy the gameplay, buy some scantily clad costumes, and live out our superhero dreams. Just don't expect it all to be as smooth as the launch period has been.
The post Marvel Rivals’ skin customization ‘controversy’ feels like some forgot the game is designed to make money appeared first on Destructoid.
