Summary
As a hero shooter,Marvel Rivalsis entering one of the most competitive spaces in the video game market. In the last 18 months alone,Deadlock,Overwatch 2,XDefiant,The Finals, and the disastrousConcordhave all made their play for the crown, while stalwarts operating in a similar space, likeApex LegendsandRainbow Six Siege, continue to draw huge numbers.
With the full backing of theMarvelIP behind it, though, NetEase Games is confident that it can crack the market in a big way.
I spoke to lead game designer Guangyun Chen atTokyo Game Show, and he shared the team’s plan for success, the power of the Marvel license, and their ideas for future characters.
Entering A Competitive Market With The Marvel IP
“The first thing we want to show is our specialty. We have the Marvel IP. We are under the Marvel storyline. We have over 85 years of Marvel history, and we have countless heroes and maps,” Chen tells me when I asked if the team was concerned about the space it would soon launch in.
While it’d be easy to sit back and be complacent with such a gigantic IP, the Rivals team wants to extract everything it can to make its game stand out.
“We honor the hero shooter by using superheroes, and we wanted to think about what we could do with that. Firstly, we started withthe maps and environments. We want to make sure every map has its own destruction model,” Chen says.
“We also put a lot of thought into theteam-ups between the heroes, based on their history with Marvel. We have popular ones like Groot and Racoon, but we also have new ones like Venom giving his powers to Penny Parker, which will add more fun to the gameplay.”
Every hero has their parallel universe. And the heroes from different universes can join our game.”
Chen also feels like the hero’s individual powers offer differentiation from Rivals competitors, telling me, “The ideology behind our design is to make it fun for players, and we use the Marvel IP to do this. For example, Spider-Man can fly, and Doctor Strange can open portals. These are all recognizable things from the Marvel universe that we’ve added to the game.”
With full access to Marvel’s history, including its comics, the MCU, and previous games, Chen confirms that NetEase still hasmore characters to reveal ahead of launch. But it’s not just the most well-known heroes that will be coming to Rivals, with the director saying, “Every hero has their parallel universe. And the heroes from different universes can join our game.”
With confidence clearly flowing throughout the Marvel Rivals team, I asked Chen if there was any fear thatwhat happened to Concordcould happen to their game. His answer was simple, “No, we’re confident with our game.”
The Need For Balanced Heroes
The key to a successful hero shooter is balance. Making a mechanically sound game is great, but if your characters aren’t balanced, it’s probably not going to do too well. Marvel Rivals is no different, something the team is well aware of.
“We have a statistic model that helps us to deal with the balancing problem, and we run tons of tests to see whether these numbers need to be adjusted,” Chen tells me. “We also have tests to manipulate what happens when beginner players use a character, and we have super good players in our team to replicate the pro players.”
In-house testing isn’t the only way the Marvel Rivals team is dealing with data, though. Chen mentions recent betas “received like 100,000 pieces of feedback from players,” something the team “will carefully consider to see whether they can help us to improve our game.”
Alongside any balancing issues, these betas measured player satisfaction by way of a survey, with results reportedly determining that 70 percent of players would recommend Marvel Rivals, giving the game an average score of 4.5/5.
We received like 100,000 pieces of feedback from players.
One key piece of feedback that came from the survey was the desire for cross-progression, something the team is considering, but will launch the game without.
“For now, we have no cross-progression. As we only have around two months to go global launch, we are doing the final tech check to see what we can do and how we can process it. The workload is a lot more than we thought at the beginning.”
Chen does confirm, however, that “we are still having internal discussions, and we’re not sure when we’ll be announcing our decision.”
A PVP Game From The Very Start
As part of an earlier group interview, Chen was asked whether, given the wealth of characters at their disposal, his team had ever considered adding a story mode to Marvel Rivals.
“Our plan, when we got the IP, was to make this game from the beginning. It has always been quite firm. We are making a 6v6 superhero team-building game. We are making a PvP game; a story mode is not included in our plan or roadmap,” he says. The reason for this? “Our team really likes rivalry and competitive game modes, so we wanted to inject that kind of style or features and make Marvel Rivals into that kind of game.”
Instead, Marvel Rivals will tell its story through the game’s multiplayer modes. “The storytelling process is actually in the game; it moves and kind of varies with the players' action and the players' progress,” Chen says, adding, “Each season will also have its own unique theme to help further elaborate the story we want to bring to our players.”
A story mode is not included in our plan or roadmap.
With the competition in the space so hot, Chen’s passion, belief, and commitment to trying something different have me thinking that Marvel Rivals might just be alright.
Marvel Rivals
WHERE TO PLAY
Marvel Rivals is a Super Hero Team-Based PVP Shooter!Assemble an all-star Marvel squad, devise countless strategies by combining powers to form unique Team-Up skills and fight in destructible, ever-changing battlefields across the continually evolving Marvel universe!A Deep and Varied Marvel RosterChoose from a vast array of fan-favorite and cult-classic Marvel Super Heroes and Super Villains from across the Avengers, Guardians of the Galaxy, X-Men, and many more from across the Marvel Multiverse.Fast and Fun 6v6 Action with Ever-Changing Game DynamicsWith intricate environments, fast-paced gameplay, and ever-changing battlefields, there’s never a dull moment in Marvel Rivals! Battle as Super Heroes and Super Villains with incredible abilities and combine your powers to bring unexpected fun to the battlefield in a matter of seconds.Dynamic Hero SynergyCoordinate unique combinations between characters to ignite surprising Team-Up Skills! Unleash the synergy of combined superpowers and invent new tactics that can turn the tide of combat. Ride on Groot’s back as Rocket Raccoon to take on your enemies as a dangerous duo, unleash Gamma energy as Hulk to charge Iron Man’s armor for massive damage, and so much more!Creative Environment DestructionTear your way through iconic Marvel worlds across destructible environments! From Asgard to the Tokyo of 2099, use superpowers to alter these environments, reshape the terrain, and craft a strategic advantage on the battlefield! Take cover to dodge attacks or use makeshift weapons to strike down enemies. Players will find countless ways to utilize the environment to claim victory!Continually Evolving Universe and Robust Post-Launch UpdatesThe Marvel Multiverse brings infinite possibilities! Each seasonal drop will introduce new Super Heroes to the battlefield along with challenging and diverse maps! Unlock new content to implement across various gameplay strategies while experiencing thrilling action and endless possibilities in these adventurous team battles!
