Marvel Rivals successfully launches with over 200,000 concurrent players on Steam

Marvel Rivals, NetEase Games’ free-to-play third-person shooter featuring many superheroes and supervillains from the Marvel universe, just came out today, and it’s already shaping up to be one of 2024’s biggest hits.

According to SteamDB and the game’s official Steam Community Hub, over 260,000 people are playing Marvel Rivals on Valve’s platform today. And these numbers are most likely to keep growing as the day goes on and more and more people get to play it after work or school.

If these numbers aren’t already impressive enough, it’s important to keep in mind that this is just one of three different systems on which Marvel Rivals is launching on today. Aside from Steam, the game is also available on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S, meaning its total player count across all platforms must be even larger.

The game’s user reviews on Steam are also quite positive so far, and they certainly reflect its massive player base. Many players are praising Marvel Rivals for its free-to-play model (which gives them 33 different characters already unlocked from the start), for its unique mechanics and for its fun & high-octane gameplay that makes it easy to pick up.

Will the success of Marvel Rivals change the free-to-play model?

As a result of all this positive reception, many are already claiming that Marvel Rivals should be the new industry standard for free-to-play multiplayer games. Back when NetEase first announced Marvel Rivals, many people dismissed it as an “Overwatch clone with a Marvel skin,” but now it seems like it has the potential to surpass Blizzard’s hero shooter after its sequel left a bad taste in players’ mouths.

After all, Overwatch 2 is considered one of the most disappointing video games of 2022 due to its rampant monetization, the sudden cancellation of its PvE mode, the lackluster changes in its gameplay and the unnecessary closure of the first game. So maybe Marvel Rivals is the competition that Blizzard needed to improve Overwatch 2 and gain back the trust of its frustrated player base.

Another notorious failure in the free-to-play model is Warner Bros’ MultiVersus, a crossover fighting game (that, ironically, features many DC heroes and villains), which many have criticized due to its slow and “grindy” progression that heavily encourages spending real money. Curiously enough, Player First Games recently changed this so all MultiVersus characters are free to unlock, similar to Marvel Rivals and its 33 unlocked characters from the get-go. If the player base keeps growing and NetEase manages to keep them engaged with constant updates and new characters, Marvel Rivals may truly become the new industry standard for its niche.