Marvel Rivals Esports – The Future of the Industry?
Within 72 hours, over 10 million players tried out the new title of Marvel Rivals. Accordingly, we’re thrilled by the prospect which is Marvel Rivals esports – let’s take a closer look at what could come of this new and exciting title.
Marvel Rivals Esports – Riding the Hype?
Following playtesting earlier this year, NetEase released Marvel Rivals to the public on 5th December 2024. As a third-person hero shooter packing the lore of Marvel comics, this title was always going to succeed. In addition, a free-to-play price tag has helped improve the hype around the game and like any other free title, has received a tonne of attention.
However, we’ve seen this before in other titles with the potential for esports betting. Most recently, first-person shooter XDefiant racked up 12 million unique players within the first few weeks, only for Ubisoft to pull the plug early this month. Indeed, the sustainability of this original spark is key for esports.
Marvel Rivals Tournaments – Global MRCs
In order to help develop the esports game potential of Marvel Rivals, NetEase has organized tournaments under the structure of the Marvel Rivals Championship or MRC:
| Tournament | Schedule | Prize Pool |
|---|---|---|
| MRC Season 0: Dooms' Rise - NA PC | 14/12/24 - 05/01/25 | $14,500 |
| MRC Season 0: Dooms' Rise - EU PC | 14/12/24 - 05/01/25 | $14,500 |
| MRC Season 0: Dooms' Rise - Asia PC | 14/12/24 - 05/01/25 | $14,500 |
| MRC Season 0: Dooms' Rise - China PC | 14/12/24 - 05/01/25 | $14,500 |
| MRC Season 0: Dooms' Rise - NA Console | 14/12/24 - 05/01/25 | $14,500 |
| MRC Season 0: Dooms' Rise - EU Console | 14/12/24 - 05/01/25 | $14,500 |
| MRC Season 0: Dooms' Rise - Asia Console | 14/12/24 - 05/01/25 | $14,500 |
With more to come, we’re predicting an international tournament later in the season following these regional events. Although the prize pools are small, all that matters now is player participation.
Our Esports Wishlist
Indeed, in such an early state, there is plenty which NetEase can focus on to improve Marvel Rivals as a game and as a future esport. Here are some of our suggestions:
- Role Queue – probably at the top of the list, NetEase needs to address how players are selecting heroes. Currently, way too many DPS characters flood the map and make for unbalanced matches. However, creative directors from Marvel Rivals have demonstrated a reluctance to follow the norm of Role queueing.
- Progression – fans have demonstrated a concern over the difficulty with progression in the game. Unless further incentives are added to encourage gamers to continue playing the game, interest may be lost over time.
- Take it slow – while the discussion over Marvel Rivals esports has begun, NetEase needs to take it slow and accommodate the growth of the esport together with the player base and community feedback. Most definitely, using the history of Overwatch as a guide of what to do and not to do is the best approach here.
Of note is that NetEase has experience organizing esports tournaments, including Overwatch, Warcraft, and StarCraft II tournaments.
