Marvel Rivals Developers Detail Future Character Plans

Marvel Rivals Developers Detail Future Character Plans. Photo credit goes to the original creator.”Bouncing Into Comics”

What NetEase Has Revealed About Upcoming Characters

Creative director Guangyun Chen recently sat down for an interview that gave us some actual insight into how the team approaches character development. According to Chen, the studio takes a “holistic approach” to character balance and selection, which sounds fancy but basically means they’re looking at data from casual players, competitive scenes, and tournaments before deciding who gets added next.

“We don’t just focus on casual players, nor do we only focus on competitive players,” Chen explained. “We take a holistic look at the entire game environment across different modes, including quick play, competitive play, and tournaments.”

The team is constantly monitoring pick rates, win rates, and ban rates for existing characters, which gives them insight into what the player base actually wants. It’s refreshing to see a developer actually pay attention to their community instead of just throwing random characters at the wall to see what sticks.

More Villains Are Definitely Coming

Here’s something that’ll get Marvel fans excited: playable villains are absolutely on the way. The current roster leans heavily toward heroes, which makes sense from a marketing perspective, but let’s be honest – sometimes you just want to be the bad guy.

NetEase has confirmed that villain characters are in active development, though they’re being frustratingly vague about which specific villains we’ll see first. Given Marvel’s massive rogues’ gallery, the possibilities are practically endless. Are we getting classic Spider-Man villains? X-Men antagonists? Cosmic threats? Your guess is as good as mine at this point.

Addressing the Roster Balance Problem

If you’ve been playing Marvel Rivals regularly, you’ve probably noticed that certain roles are underrepresented. The game desperately needs more Vanguards and Strategists to balance out the Duelist-heavy roster that currently dominates matches.

The developers have acknowledged this issue and confirmed that future character releases will prioritize filling these gaps. It’s about time, honestly. Queue times for certain roles have been getting ridiculous, and having more variety in team compositions will make matches way more interesting.

The Matchmaking Mystery Finally Gets Addressed

Speaking of things that needed addressing, NetEase is finally ready to talk about their controversial matchmaking system. Players have been suspicious that the game uses Engagement Oriented Matchmaking (EOMM) rather than traditional skill-based matchmaking, and those suspicions aren’t entirely unfounded.

Chen announced that the studio will be releasing a dedicated video explaining how their matchmaking actually works within the next two weeks. “Matchmaking is a complex system,” he said, which sounds like developer-speak for “it’s complicated, and you probably won’t like all the details.”

The timing of this announcement feels strategic. Players have been increasingly vocal about matchmaking issues, particularly the frustrating losing streaks followed by suspiciously easy wins that characterize EOMM systems.

Collaboration Plans Beyond the Game

NetEase isn’t just thinking about individual character additions – they’re planning larger collaborations with other Marvel properties. Chen confirmed that the studio wants to work with other Marvel titles for future content, though he stopped short of naming specific partnerships.

This opens up some intriguing possibilities. Could we see tie-ins with upcoming games like Arkane Lyon’s Marvel’s Blade or Insomniac’s Spider-Man series? What about the upcoming fighting game Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls? The potential for cross-promotion is huge, and it could bring some unique character variants or skins to Marvel Rivals.

Performance Updates Keep Coming

While we’re talking about future plans, it’s worth noting that NetEase has been consistently supporting the game with substantial updates. The recent Season 3.5 update completely rebuilt the game’s shader system from the ground up, improving PC performance and reducing loading times.

These kinds of behind-the-scenes improvements might not be as flashy as new character reveals, but they show that NetEase is committed to the long-term health of the game. A stable, well-performing foundation is crucial for any competitive shooter’s success.

What This Means for Marvel Rivals Moving Forward

The transparency from NetEase feels like a significant shift in their communication strategy. For months, the community has been hungry for concrete information about the game’s future, and these recent developer interviews suggest that the studio is finally ready to be more open about their plans.

The focus on data-driven character selection is particularly encouraging. Too many games add characters based on what looks cool or what might drive microtransaction sales, rather than what actually improves the gameplay experience.

However, there’s still a lot we don’t know. Specific character names, release timelines, and detailed ability previews remain under wraps. NetEase is clearly being strategic about their reveals, probably saving the big announcements for major gaming events or season launches.

The confirmation that villain characters and additional Vanguards and Strategists are coming addresses two of the community’s biggest concerns about the current roster. If NetEase can deliver on these promises while maintaining the game’s impressive production values, Marvel Rivals could solidify its position as a major player in the competitive shooter space.

For now, we’ll have to wait and see if NetEase’s actions match their words. But at least they’re finally talking, and that’s a step in the right direction.

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