After teasing it yesterday, Marvel and NetEase have confirmed recent rumours that they’re working together on a 6v6 online multiplayer hero shooter, officially lifting the lid on Marvel Rivals for PC.
The game, which is most easily compared to something like Overwatch, will feature an original storyline that sees a colliding of universes at the hands of Doctor Doom result in superheroes and villains from across the multiverse fighting together and against one another.
Despite the shooter moniker, Rivals naturally features mostly heroes who aren’t so much shooting as using a wide variety of powers and melee attacks, so this isn’t some sort of Suicide Squad situation where Marvel’s handed out actual guns to a bunch of powerful beings that don’t need them.
NetEase looks to be giving this game a few points-of-difference to other, similar titles with things like Team-Up skills where different combinations of heroes can make for special advantages like having Rocket Raccoon ride on Groot or using Hulk’s Gamma energy to charge Iron Man’s armour. Maps will also feature environmental destruction for evolving strategies as matches go on.
Naturally, NetEase will support the game over time with seasonal content that adds new heroes, challenges and maps.
So far, the playable characters shown off for the game are Black Panther, Scarlet Witch, Spider-Man, Doctor Strange, Rocket Raccoon, Groot, Hulk, Iron Man, Loki, The Punisher, Star Lord, Luna Snow, Magik, Magneto, Mantis, Namor, Peni Parker and Storm.
A closed alpha test for Marvel Rivals will be kicking off in May, and you can check out the debut trailer for the game below:
“Marvel Rivals is a Super Hero team-based PVP shooter,” the game’s official overview reads, “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!”