History of Marvel Rivals in Timeline

Marvel Rivals is a free-to-play, third-person hero shooter developed by NetEase Games in collaboration with Marvel Games and was released on December 6, 2024, for PlayStation 5, Windows, and Xbox Series X/S. It features cross-play and boasts a roster of 37 Marvel Comics characters. By February 2025, the game had achieved over 40 million players.

1989: Restricted Words

After release, discussion proceeded on in-game censorship of controversial terms. Specifically, censorship of "Winnie the Pooh" and "1989" caused speculation that the China-based developer NetEase blocked the phrase due to censorship in China.

March 27, 2024: Game Announcement

On March 27, 2024, Marvel Games announced Marvel Rivals through a trailer release.

August 5, 2024: Closed Beta Test End

The closed beta test for Marvel Rivals, which began on July 23, concluded on August 5, 2024. The beta was available for both consoles and PC.

November 16, 2024: Voice Over Options Confirmed

On November 16, 2024, it was confirmed that Marvel Rivals features an option to select between English, Japanese or Mandarin voice overs at launch.

November 30, 2024: Launch Trailer Release

On November 30, 2024, the launch trailer for Marvel Rivals was released, showcasing 5 new playable heroes being added upon launch.

December 6, 2024: Game Release

On December 6, 2024, Marvel Rivals was officially released for PlayStation 5, Windows, and Xbox Series X/S. The game is free-to-play and features cross-play across all supported platforms.

PlayStation®5 Digital Edition (slim)

Check it on Amazon

December 8, 2024: Peak Concurrent Players on Steam

On December 8, 2024, Marvel Rivals peaked at 480,990 concurrent players on Steam.

December 2024: Winter Celebration Event Start

In December 2024, Marvel Rivals launched its first Winter Celebration event, which included limited-time modes and themed cosmetics for completing challenges.

December 2024: Player Count and Revenue

Throughout December 2024, Marvel Rivals maintained its in-game player count, surpassing 20 million players as announced on December 17. GameLook estimated a revenue of about $135 million across all platforms, ranking the game 6th in the top 20 by revenue in several European countries and the US.

2024: Marvel Rivals Infinity Comic Release

In 2024, Marvel Comics published "Marvel Rivals Infinity Comic", a six-issue digital limited series by Paul Allor and Luca Claretti, as part of their Infinity Comics program on Marvel Unlimited.

2024: Closed Alpha Test

In 2024, Marvel Rivals had a ten-day closed alpha test, from May 10-20, accessible to the public. Players earned permanent rewards, including an exclusive title and a Scarlet Witch skin, transferrable to the game's final release through gameplay. Additional rewards included the "Dawn of Legends" title and an in-game spray.

2024: High Single-Day Active Users

In 2024, Microsoft revealed that Marvel Rivals was one of the games on Xbox with the highest single-day active users.

January 2025: Revenue Ranking

In January 2025, Marvel Rivals was 5th in the top 20 games by revenue in the US, UK, Germany, France, Spain, and Italy.

January 2025: Winter Celebration Event End

The Winter Celebration event in Marvel Rivals, which began in December 2024, concluded in January 2025. It featured a 4v4 game mode with all players as Jeff the Land Shark.

February 2025: Game Features Highlight

As of February 2025, Marvel Rivals features 6v6 player-versus-player battles, "Dynamic Hero Synergy", destructible environments and 13 unique maps.

February 2025: Player Count Milestone

As of February 2025, Marvel Rivals reached over 40 million players.

February 2025: No PVE Mode Planned

As of February 2025, the Marvel Rivals development team had no current plans to introduce a player versus environment game mode.

February 2025: Esports Scene Development Plans

During an earnings call held by NetEase in February 2025, the developer confirmed its plans to further develop an esports scene around Marvel Rivals.

February 2025: Development Team Layoffs

In February 2025, NetEase laid off their Seattle-based design team, including director Sasser, citing organizational reasons and optimization of development efficiency for Marvel Rivals. Work is ongoing by the Guangzhou-based core development team.

February 2025: Character Roster Update

As of February 2025, 37 playable characters have been officially announced for Marvel Rivals. Guangyun Chen explained that the character design involves diving deep into the background and personality of each character from Marvel Comics.

February 21, 2025: Date Mention

February 21, 2025 is mentioned in the source text.

April 6, 2025: Marvel Rivals Championship Date

The inaugural Marvel Rivals Championship (MRC) esports tournament is scheduled to take place from March 8 through April 6, 2025, featuring a prize pool of USD$14,500.