It seems like Marvel Rivals has been one of the few video games that has been getting a ton of mainstream attentions since its release back in December 2024. Marvel Rivals developed and published by Chinese video game company NetEase Games is something that seemingly skyrocketed in popularity within the past month or so. Since its release back on December 6th the gaming community have compared Marvel Rivals to Overwatch 2 which came out during in Summer 2023. Unlike, Overwatch 2 which came out in 2022 Marvel Rivals did not have a disastrous launch which lead to immediate backlash from the gaming community. While Blizzard Entertainment had fixed numerous issues in Overwatch 2 since launch many gamers are still upset about the frustrating experience they had more than two years ago. Issues regarding players being kicked out of online competitive lobbies sometimes in the middle of the game were common at one point. Even though the core gameplay in Overwatch 2 is better than the original game from 2016 Blizzard’s heroic shooter game left a sour taste in many people’s mouth back in 2022.

Ever since, Marvel Rivals was released in late 2024 people have mostly but positive things to say about the game. The aesthetics for Marvel Rivals looks better than Overwatch 2 especially since it utilizes the Unreal Engine 5. Also, 6v6 gameplay in Marvel Rivals is something is something that almost everyone can easily get into since its a free-to-play like Overwatch 2. A online multiplayer hero shooter game with at least 35 larger than life Marvel characters like Spider-Man, Wolverine and Captain America is something that highly appeals to the casual audience of gamers. Since its launch Marvel Rivals has reportedly reached over 20 players within weeks. While. Marvel Rivals has criticized for being buggy and constant crashes the in game content has received a ton of praise. Marvel Rivals provides players with exciting multiplayer game modes including Conquest, Domination, Convoy and Convergence and even has an interesting storyline where Doctor Doom and his futuristic counterpart are featured as the main villains. At this point it seems like Marvel Rivals is destroying Overwatch 2 in terms of popularity. In fact Marvel Rivals has a significantly higher User Score on Metacritic than Overwatch 2 which has been panned by many players. Netease just dropped Season 1 for Marvel Rivals which features the Fantastic Four and its likely that more superheroes will be added a time passes. Marvel Rivals might not become as popular as the original Overwatch game was during its peak. However, Marvel Rivals has the potential become one of the biggest hero shooter video games of the 2020’s decade.