Highlights
- Marvel Rivals, a new 6v6 shooter with destructible environments and team-up skills, is set to challenge Blizzard's Overwatch dominance.
- Developed by NetEase and Marvel Games, Marvel Rivals boasts a roster including Black Panther and Doctor Strange.
- Scheduled for a May Alpha Test on PC, Marvel Rivals offers a fresh take on hero-shooters.
The leaked Overwatch-style 6v6 shooter based on Marvel Comics characters, Marvel Rivals, has now been officially announced. Besides projects like Paladins, Blizzard has been virtually unopposed in the hero shooter space since launching Overwatch in 2016. However, it looks like Marvel Rivals will be a very serious contender to Blizzard's team-based hero-shooter game.
Marvel Rivals rumors have been swirling this past week, as leakers let the cat out of the bag ahead of the game's official reveal. Much of what the leakers claimed about the game has turned out to be true, with Marvel Rivals featuring Overwatch-style 6v6 gameplay, but with a third-person perspective instead of first-person shooter action. The official reveal has offered even more details about the game and when fans can expect to play it.
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An Overwatch 2 player thinks one popular Marvel franchise has some serious crossover potential with the Blizzard hero shooter's characters.
Marvel Rivals is coming as a collaboration between NetEase Games and Marvel Games, with a NetEase team comprised of former Battlefield and Call of Duty veterans. Fans will have their first chance to try the game this coming May through its Alpha Test. So far, Marvel Rivals has only been confirmed for release on PC, so those on consoles are being left out of the equation - at first, at least. The game's story sees Doctor Doom battling his 2099 counterpart and causing a "Timestream Entanglement" from various universes colliding with each other.
Marvel Rivals Has 2 Major Features That Will Help It Stand Out
- Team-Up Skills
- Destructible environments
The Marvel Rivals roster will include Black Panther, Doctor Strange, Groot, Hulk, Iron Man, Loki, Luna Snow, Magik, Magneto, Mantis, Namor, Peni Parker, Rocket Raccoon, Scarlet Witch, Spider-Man, Storm, Star-Lord, and The Punisher. Gameplay in the trailer looks highly reminiscent of Overwatch, but with some unique wrinkles that should help Marvel Rivals stand out from Blizzard's game. Notably, Marvel Rivals features Team-Up Skills that let heroes work more directly together. Examples include Rocket Raccoon riding on Groot's back and Hulk unleashing his Gamma Energy to power-up Iron Man's armor.
Marvel Rivals maps will feature destructible environments, which will also help it establish itself apart from Blizzard's game. Two maps have been confirmed for Marvel Rivals so far, with a map based on Asgard and another based on 2099 Tokyo. More Marvel heroes and maps based on various locations from the Marvel universe will be added in the game's seasonal updates.
Marvel Rivals Roster
- Black Panther
- Doctor Strange
- Groot
- Hulk
- Iron Man
- Loki
- Luna Snow
- Magik
- Magneto
- Mantis
- Namor
- Peni Parker
- Rocket Raccoon
- Scarlet Witch
- Spider-Man
- Storm
- Star-Lord
- The Punisher
Marvel Rivals looks impressive so far, and it will be refreshing to have a more viable alternative to Overwatch. It will be interesting to see how the two hero-shooters compete, especially with Blizzard planning some big moves of its own with the upcoming Overwatch 2 Season 10.
Marvel Rivals
- Franchise
- Marvel
- Platform(s)
- PC , PS5 , Xbox Series X , Xbox Series S
- Developer(s)
- NetEase Games
- Genre(s)
- Third-Person Shooter , Action , Multiplayer
