Gab Hernandez 
NetEase Games has just announced Marvel Rivals and the six-on-six, team-based shooter will field an impressive, albeit random, roster of X-Men, Avengers, and other characters.
Marvel has a mixed track record with its recent video game releases. Although the likes of Insomniac Games’ Marvel’s Spider-Man found success, there are also flops like Marvel’s Avengers. Still, Marvel’s multiverse of recognizable characters makes it a goldmine for video games.
Marvel Rivals is the latest outing and it places both iconic characters, and some deep pulls from Marvel lore, onto its roster. Fans are always excited to see who gets in and who’s left out of any crossover game and there are already 20 characters confirmed as being part of the game in one way or another.
Which characters are confirmed for the Marvel Rivals roster?
Marvel Rivals is confirmed to have some of Marvel’s biggest names including Spider-Man and Hulk, alongside deep cuts like Magik and Luna Snow. The character lineup was leaked before the initial release, which was later confirmed in the full trailer.
Here are the playable characters confirmed for Marvel Rivals so far:
- Black Panther
- Bruce Banner/Hulk
- Doctor Strange
- Groot
- Iron Man
- Loki
- Luna Snow
- Magik
- Magneto
- Mantis
- Namor
- Peni Parker (SP//DR)
- Rocket Raccoon
- Scarlet Witch
- Spider-Man
- Star-Lord
- Storm
- The Punisher
Marvel also confirmed Doctor Doom and Galacta, the daughter of Galactus, as story characters. Marvel revealed that Doctor Doom’s feud with his 2099 variant caused the “Timestream Entanglement” that ripped open the multiverse in the first place. Meanwhile, Galacta seems to be the “announcer” for these multiversal death matches, as shown in her appearance at the end of the reveal trailer.
Interestingly, the roster does not include fan favorites such as Wolverine, Deadpool, Captain America, or Thor. While much of the roster is made up of characters who had prominent roles in films, MCU or otherwise, names like Magik and Luna Snow certainly stick out as odd.
Given the notoriety of the absent characters, they will likely arrive in future updates.
Who will come to Marvel Rivals in the future?
NetEase Games has not announced upcoming characters for Marvel Rivals, but Marvel confirmed in its reveal of the game that the roster will expand each season.
Given the game’s freshness, the studio may space out character reveals throughout the closed alpha period. The game also doesn’t have an official release date for its full launch, so it’s possible that multiple new characters will be added before then.
Marvel confirmed that each season of Marvel Rivals will introduce new characters to the multiversal battlefield. Marvel did not confirm if these new characters will be free or locked behind microtransactions. With how modern AAA live service titles monetize their projects, paywalls are more likely for Marvel Rivals than not.
