Spider-Man teaming up with Squirrel Girl to defeat Thor and Groot: This is not the synopsis of an upcoming Marvel movie, but a regular match-up in Marvel Rivals.
Since its launch in December 2024, NetEase’s free-to-play team-based hero shooter has surged to mainstream success. In just three days, it drew over ten million players and still gathers thousands of players daily. Marvel Rivals is also a meme machine, with cheeky updates like one that buffed male characters’ butts.
But having cute cartoon characters like Jeff the Land Shark and viral social posts isn’t enough to sustain a competitive FPS. The next challenge for Marvel Rivals is conquering the esports main stage. Does it have what it takes to evolve beyond casual play and become the next big esport?
How Rivals achieved mainstream success overnight
Marvel Rivals crashed onto the scene before players could even hit download, and six months later, it’s still turning heads—and not just because of adorable chaos gremlins like Jeff the Land Shark. Between its snappy pacing, polished visuals, and a certain cheeky update that had fans doing double-takes, it’s clear Marvel Rivals isn’t fading into the background anytime soon.
First of all, Marvel Rivals isn’t just any team-based shooter—it stars some of the most popular characters from pop culture. Every player who ever dreamed of teaming up with friends as their favorite Marvel hero can now do exactly that. The Marvel brand itself did much of the heavy lifting for the game’s initial popularity boost.
Accessibility proves another key factor in the game’s success. Marvel Rivals’ free-to-play model means anyone can hop in, mess around, and keep playing if they enjoy it. Some heroes require more skill than others, but with 38 characters available, most players find someone that fits their style.
Memes and moderation
Whether balancing gameplay, adding fresh content, or introducing new characters, Marvel Rivals regularly brings something new for players to discover.
Among various changes rolled out in recent months, Marvel Rivals launched a “butt patch” to tweak exclusively male hero models. Players immediately shared pictures of every character’s rear on social media, generating even more Marvel Rivals memes.
While Marvel Rivals maintains this tongue-in-cheek approach on social media, NetEase takes chat moderation seriously, sometimes leading to surprising censorship. Players discovered words banned from Marvel Rivals chat, including “Dalai Lama,” “Tiananmen Square,” and “Winnie the Pooh.”
Even these censored terms generated buzz, with streamers showcasing unusual banned words they encountered. While NetEase implements these restrictions to comply with Chinese laws, players continue to share their discoveries online, finding the censorship excessive.
Marvel Rivals explained
Marvel Rivals is a free-to-play 6v6 hero shooter developed by NetEase Games, with each character having their own weapons and skills. Players can choose from a roster of 38 characters like Black Panther, Hulk, Captain America, and Scarlet Witch. NetEase regularly adds new characters to their roster, like the recent addition of Emma Frost with the launch of Season 2.
Each character has their unique abilities and belongs to one of three categories:
- Vanguards: Frontline powerhouses who absorb damage and protect their team.
- Duelists: High DPS heroes built for quick kills and aggressive plays.
- Strategists: Support-focused characters who heal allies and boost team performance with buffs.
For example, Groot is a Vanguard who can block enemies with root walls, protecting his team from incoming attacks. Scarlet Witch, a Duelist, can wipe out the entire enemy team with a single attack, unleashing massive damage with her Reality Erasure ability. If things go south, Strategist hero Rocket Raccoon can revive his teammates with his Battle Rebirth Beacon.
Some heroes also have synergies that grant extra powers when they pair up with specific characters. As of Season 2, there are 20 different Team-Ups in Marvel Rivals. For instance, Hawkeye gets a +15% damage boost if Black Widow is on his team, and allows her to spot enemies with his Hunter’s Sight. Luna Snow gives Namor and Jeff the Land Shark freeze abilities and bonuses, changing how these characters impact the game.
Some heroes are stronger against others and are known as counters. Invisible Woman makes it harder for Black Panther to reach close quarters, while Groot can easily block Black Widow’s eyesight with his walls, among other strategies. Overall, each Marvel Rivals character brings its twist to a match, and adapting to both allies and enemies is key to winning.
Overwatch with a Cape and Cowl
Other hero-based shooters like Overwatch or Apex Legends were popular before the release of Marvel Rivals. While NetEase’s FPS doesn’t reinvent the wheel, it took everything that made Overwatch and Apex Legends popular–fast-paced action, flashy gameplay, abilities, iconic heroes–and turned it up a notch with familiar faces from comics, movies, and TV shows.
Marvel Rivals might as well be Overwatch in a Marvel cosplay—many heroes feel like reskins of Blizzard’s originals, right down to their roles and core abilities. Hawkeye has the same playstyle as Hanzo, Black Panther harasses enemies like Genji, Star Lord zips around like Tracer, Cloak & Dagger feels just like Moira, and Iron Man is the new Pharah.
After spending hundreds of hours on Overwatch, I can’t even tell you how many times I called a Marvel Rivals’ character by the name of their Overwatch equivalent, only for all players to know exactly who I was talking about. When “Iron Man” and “Pharah” become interchangeable callouts in competitive play, it reveals how similar the core design is.
Netease’s approach feels deliberately calculated: take Overwatch’s proven formula, dress it in billion-dollar Marvel IP, and hope the combination proves irresistible. But this lack of innovation creates an identity crisis for Marvel Rivals as an esport. Why would viewers and pros invest in what feels like a reskinned version of an existing competitive experience?
The similarities extend beyond heroes to match structure, objective types, and even map layouts. Payload maps feel eerily familiar, control points occupy predictable positions, and team compositions follow established meta patterns directly imported from Blizzard’s playbook.
For casual players enjoying superhero fantasy, this familiarity might be comforting. For esports ambitions, it creates a significant hurdle to establishing Marvel Rivals as more than “Overwatch with capes.”
Not quite esports-ready?
Unfortunately, all that similarity between Marvel Rivals and Overwatch brings the same spectating headaches. Custom lobbies often glitch out, leaving casters and viewers stuck in a two-minute delay or unable to exit spectator mode without force-quitting the entire match.
This leaves tournament organizers with no option to host a match, and spectators no ability to type in chat, pause, or end the game themselves.
If Marvel Rivals wants to level up as an esport, it needs to clean up its spectator tools. We’re talking a streamlined observer UI, more options for spectators in private lobbies, as well as the possibility to switch between first-person and third-person views to get a better grasp as to what’s going on.
Even then, it might be tough for new viewers to understand what’s happening in a Marvel Rivals game. Everyone is running in different directions, from flankers trying to surprise opponents, Vanguards pushing the objective points, Strategists hoping to save everyone, and Duelists trying to survive.
With 38 heroes, each having 4 to 6 abilities, newcomers may struggle watching Marvel Rivals and understand who does what.
Now, don’t get it twisted, Marvel Rivals isn’t a bad game. It feels satisfying to play, with lots of different abilities, destructible environments, and various synergies when combining heroes. But just because a game feels good to play, doesn’t mean it feels good to watch. Marvel Rivals is a decent game, but a terrible esport in its current state.
Money talks—but will the viewers listen?
By definition, any game can be considered an esport as long as it can be played competitively between players. However, reaching the main stage and achieving popularity demands much more. The most successful esports captivate crowds, attract thousands of viewers, and deliver breathtaking moments that define competitive gaming history.
So, can Marvel Rivals become the next big thing in esports? NetEase has already initiated this journey by funding prize pools and sanctioning tournaments globally, drawing professional players and major esports organizations.
NetEase launched Marvel Rivals Championship Season 0 right upon the game’s launch in December 2024, with a new season starting every two months. Marvel Rivals Championship spans through China, North America, Europe, Asia, and Oceania, with each region offering a $14,500 prize pool—respectable but not groundbreaking in the esports landscape.
The more ambitious Marvel Rivals Ignite circuit was announced in May 2025, featuring a $3m total prize pool. This significant investment positions Marvel Rivals to challenge established esports tournaments, surpassing Overwatch League 2022’s Playoffs $2.5m and matching the prize pools of Valorant Champions 2024 and LoL 2024 World Championship with $2.25m each.
This financial commitment might persuade talent from other games to transition to Marvel Rivals. Former Overwatch League champion and Valorant pro Jay “Sinatraa” Won has already expressed interest in competing professionally in Marvel Rivals if it receives proper competitive support.
Unlike the launch of Overwatch and Valorant, which attracted entire squads of established CS:GO pros, Marvel Rivals hasn’t triggered the same mass departure of talent. Some former Overwatch players have migrated to NetEase’s shooter, though this appears driven more by Overwatch 2’s declining professional scene than by Marvel Rivals’ overall appeal.
Despite being relatively new to the esport scene, several major organizations have invested in Marvel Rivals teams. Virtus.pro, 100 Thieves, Sentinels, Luminosity Gaming EU, LGD Gaming, and Nova Esports have all established rosters competing for prominence.
Esports dreams and Marvel-sized doubts
Marvel Rivals has momentum, with thousands of active players and a peak at over 640,000 concurrent players, according to data from Steam Charts. However, whether it can sustain this momentum remains uncertain, as lasting esports success requires more than viral moments and meme-worthy updates.
During NetEase’s Q4 2024 Earnings Call in February 2025, the company publicly committed to developing Marvel Rivals’ esport ecosystem. Bill Pang, Vice President of Corporate Development, declared plans to “keep investing for 10 years and beyond” in their team-based hero shooter.
“Marvel Rivals has everything it takes to be the next big esport. It brings fast-paced action, flashy gameplay, and make-or-break moments that can make crowds go wild. With better spectating options, more major tournaments, and larger prize pools from NetEase—I’m sure Marvel Rivals will find its place in the esport scene.”
If NetEase continues to financially support major tournaments, and can improve the spectator experience—there’s a real chance we may see Marvel Rivals become the next big esport. However, it seems unlikely, with recent updates focusing more on social media popularity than gameplay quality.
I hope NetEase proves me wrong though, because Marvel Rivals feels like a welcome breath of fresh air in the stuffy global esports scene.
