NetEase had quite a few bit announcements for Marvel Rivals at Gamescom Opening Night Live today. For starters, the highly anticipated free-to-play shooter is set to launch on December 6, 2024. As previously announced, it will be available on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S — all on the same day.
The release date was announced alongside a new trailer that confirmed two previously leaked Marvel heroes as playable characters: Captain America and Bucky Barnes, aka The Winter Soldier. The trailer begins with a cinematic animation featuring Black Panther before diving into the rivalry between Captain America and his rival, The Winter Soldier.
The animation then goes directly into gameplay, highlighting both The Winter Soldier's and Captain America's abilities and skills. We also see gameplay on Marvel Rivals' newest map, Intergalactic Empire of Wakanda.
"Enhanced by the Super-Soldier Serum, Steven Rogers uses his Vibranium shield and extensive combat training to confront any threat to justice," the character description for Steve Rogers reads. "When Captain America rallies his troops, a wave of courage sweeps across the battlefield!"
Meanwhile, Bucky Barnes' profile confirms his backstory and combat style: "Terrifying experiments turned him into a brainwashed assassin, but now James "Bucky" Barnes is in control of his own fate once again. With his enhanced mechanical arm, the Winter Soldier is primed to deliver earth-shattering blows to any foe in his path!"
“We are ecstatic to be part of this year’s gamescom and the opportunity to connect with players from all across Europe,” said Ethan Wang, Senior Vice President, NetEase, Inc. “We are now entering the final stages of development as we march towards our December 6 release."
As if you couldn't already tell by the gameplay trailer above, Marvel Rivals is heavily inspired by Blizzard's Overwatch. It's a team-based PvP shooter that features the greatest super heroes and villains from all parts of the Marvel Universe. Players will assemble squads of heroes and villains and battle with unique powers in multiple game modes across a variety of destructible maps from across the Marvel Multiverse.
Following the trailer's release, the official Marvel Rivals social media account confirmed that all heroes will be unlocked and free-to-play at launch and beyond. This is incredible news as many of these hero-based shooters require players to unlock characters by buying them with real money converted into premium in-game currency or some secondary form of in-game currency earned by playing or buying a season pass.
Are you excited to play Marvel Rivals when it launches?