While many gamers have grown exhausted by the torrent of hero shooters flooding the market, many studios have tried to improve the genre. One of the biggest recent titles was Marvel Rivals, a team-based third-person shooter from NetEase Games featuring the iconic champions from the comics. Fortunately, the developers tried to create a unique spin on the formula. Even with the genre’s reputation, the game’s player count reached a massive milestone, almost certainly ensuring its longevity. Here is a breakdown of Marvel Rivals’ impressive victory.
Marvel Rivals’ Early Victory
According to GameSpot, Marvel Rivals has reached a massive milestone during the first leg of its race. They announced that within 72 hours of launch, the game had over ten million players. While this is already a massive number regardless of context, for reference, this is several times more players than one of its rivals, Overwatch 2. The game launched on December 6 for all platforms. As a live-service game intended to last for several years, the early days of a game like this make or break it. Fortunately, Marvel Rivals had a fantastic launch that quickly ensured its success. In the same article, the developers expressed their utmost gratitude for supporting the game and wished them luck.
The New Hero Shooter
Marvel Rivals is the new free-to-play hero shooter for those out of the loop. The story follows the infamous Dr. Doom and his 2099 counterpart, who join forces to cause another multiversal crossover event. The game includes well-known playable heroes with unique powers, like Iron Man and Dr. Strange. Additionally, battles occur in various Marvel locales, such as Wakanda and Hydra bases. Currently, 33 heroes are available; one can expect many more.
NetEase, a massive Chinese internet provider, developed the game alongside Marvel. They previously worked alongside Blizzard with Overwatch and had experience with a successful hero shooter. Currently, the game is in “Season 0,” with a limited array of rewards for its battle pass. However, fans can expect far more from NetEase as they advance.
What sets Marvel Rivals apart from other games is its “Dynamic Hero Synergy” mechanic, which creates a unique combination of skills between specific champions, allowing for clever strategizing from players. Furthermore, destructible environments help keep the map dynamic and force teams to think on their feet constantly. Finally, the game used its “multiversal” genre to create original takes on its well-known supes.
The Best of Both Worlds
The “Hero Shooter” genre has become controversial among gamers for the past few years for its repetitive tropes and stale meta. Since the success of 2016’s Overwatch, many other games like Deadlock have tried to mimic its success. However, many have failed along the way. Easily, the most infamous example would be this year’s Concord. Despite its massive budget, the game flopped so hard that it shut down barely a month after its launch.
However, the Marvel IP has become one of history’s most influential media franchises, with hundreds of iconic heroes. Furthermore, many successful games have been based on their stories, such as Insomniac’s Spider-Man and Marvel Vs. Capcom. A similar contemporary example would be the recent Multiversus, Warner Bros.’ attempt at the “platform fighter” genre akin to Smash. With such a strong start, it may prove the hero shooter genre can still make a successful and original entry.
Conclusion
However hard developers work to make their games, its early days are the moment of truth. Fortunately, NetEase and Marvel’s diligent work to create an original game quickly established Marvel Rivals as a new major title. To have such a strong player count within the first few days is a stellar omen. Ultimately, there are no “good” or “bad” video game genres, only well- and poorly executed ones. While Rivals wasn’t without its critics, its massive, swiftly growing fanbase has shown the path to success.
