F2P Hero Shooter Marvel Rivals Shatters Expectations With Over 400,000 Concurrent Players Less Than 24 Hours After Launch

[Cpt.Jank]

It's no secret that 2024 hasn't been kind to live-service games, with recent months seeing games like XDefiant and Concord shut down—although not always without reason—so it's a bit refreshing to see the recently released Marvel Rivals hit what can only be described as a home run. Not only is the game already at "Mostly Positive" in terms of Steam reviews, the free-to-play hero shooter also managed to draw in massive amounts of players in its first week on Steam. According to SteamDB, Marvel Rivals peaked at 444,286 concurrent players a mere two and a half hours after its launch on Friday, December 6.

The game launched on the same day as Path of Exile 2, which had an equally successful launch, despite its Early Access fee and some serious technical hiccups along the way. These two games have not been the norm, although Marvel Rivals signals that gaming properties based on Marvel characters may have finally found their audience. In previous years, both Marvel's Midnight Suns and Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy made their own impacts, scoring big with both reviewers and audiences. Of course, neither of the aforementioned games garnered quite the player count as Marvel Rivals, but that's likely simply due to the free-to-play nature of Rivals.



Marvel Rivals is a free-to-play, team-based PVP hero shooter that puts players into various Marvel heroes and pits them against each other in destructible environments. It's currently available for PC on Steam and on the PS5 and Xbox storefronts.

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[nguyen]

Just tried for 15min then delete, it's an overwatch clone with marvels skin

 

[Guwapo77]

That means its a game for me. I love Marvel and I like Overwatch...sounds like a match made in heaven!

 

[Hyderz]

No wants to play healer I heard lol

 

[Quicks]

Way too colourful makes my head hurt.

 

[AcE]

Just tried for 15min then delete, it's an overwatch clone with marvels skin

If it's a OW clone it has no chance to succeed, OW is better anyway and already failing. In general the OW gameplay is kinda trashy, too fast paced, too chaotic.

 

[TheinsanegamerN]

Not my cup of tea, but glad to finally see a decent game that doesnt have showstopping issues for once. Also really goes to show how badly Concord blew it. If there was any shred of possibility that it wasnt their fault, that the genre was too oversaturated and just now accepting of anew game, this just took that theory out back.

If it's a OW clone it has no chance to succeed, OW is better anyway and already failing. In general the OW gameplay is kinda trashy, too fast paced, too chaotic.

>over 400k players
>no chance to succeed

Top KEK.

 

[AcE]

>over 400k players
>no chance to succeed

Top KEK.

*long term. The hype is soon over anyway (100% fueled by streamers), how many games were there recently which were successful for a few days or maybe months and then came crashing down? Hint: just yesterday there was a news about such a game which was even completely shut down by Ubisoft. Once very successful. This game will be carried a bit longer by Marvel franchise and then go into oblivion as well. Gameplay > Marvel heroes. I saw Venom, he looks like a black hulk (way too bulky) in that game, the game design is kinda terrible tbh.

Ubisoft Shuts Down XDefiant After F2P FPS's Disappointing Short Run

Ubisoft this week announced that XDefiant would be joining the recently axed Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown. As of December 3, the free-to-play first-person shooter will no longer be available to download, and no new players will be allowed to create an account. On June 3, 2025, XDefiant's...

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And what they achieved is truly remarkable. The early response from players when XDefiant launched was amazing—we broke internal records for the fastest game to surpass 5 million users and in the end we had over 15 million players play our game!

 

[Cheeseball]

If it's a OW clone it has no chance to succeed, OW is better anyway and already failing. In general the OW gameplay is kinda trashy, too fast paced, too chaotic.

This is an extremely subjective opinion (that I respect), but it being fast-paced and chaotic is what makes it fun. Or at least refreshing compared to the slower tactical/competitive FPS.

 

[AcE]

but it being fast-paced and chaotic is what makes it fun.

Tried it for hours, Overwatch, never warmed up to the idea that you have to shoot opponents a very long time until they die, and then the inferior (too easy, too much precision while moving) shooting mechanics compared to games such as CS or Valorant. I would even prefer CoD.

 

[Cheeseball]

Tried it for hours, Overwatch, never warmed up to the idea that you have to shoot opponents a very long time until they die, and then the inferior (too easy, too much precision while moving) shooting mechanics compared to games such as CS or Valorant. I would even prefer CoD.

Well thats all subjective really. I'm also a tactical FPS player and I treat it different from 5v5/6v6 hero shooters. The TTK (time-to-kill) in those games are supposed to vary.

There are times I want to have movement+aim and there are times when I want a slow-paced game and just aim.

EDIT: +game

 

[AcE]

Well thats all subjective really.

Is it? Opponents being kinda godlike creatures who can withstand that much punishment is very unrealistic, so it's more than just subjective, really. Games used to be like that... unserious games which are not competitive. Single player games. Has a reason why OW isn't that popular anymore.

 

[Cheeseball]

Is it? Opponents being kinda godlike creatures who can withstand that much punishment is very unrealistic, so it's more than just subjective, really. Games used to be like that... unserious games which are not competitive. Single player games.

Of course it is. I'm from the Doom and Quake era. Don't confuse games with low-TTK to be "realistic" (even though in real life its true). I still bunny hop/air strafe in Valorant and CS2.

 

[AcE]

Of course it is. I'm from the Doom and Quake era.

No I wouldn't say so. I already explained it, more realism is more than just "subjectively better". It's objectively better and more realistic. And it has a reason the Doom and Quake esports genre is everything but dead. All the really successful esports titles today have a low TTK not a long one where you can endlessly bait your opponent. And exactly that is the downside of OW. Baiting and endlessly jumping around is a lot of things, but it's not elegant or great. Even Valorant itself is too chaotic, just because it has some chaos via skills, already that makes it way less watchable than CS esports (and it has easier movement/shooting mechanics). OW? Not even worth talking about.

 

[Garrus]

Overwatch actually cost $50 to play.

Marvel Rivals is free to play, so the number of people playing it is a bit misleading. Hard to say how successful it will be. But with Overwatch 2 and Concord sucking, there is an opening.

Also I thought Concord failed because the hero shooter is played out (which was hilariously false but people that hate introspection needed an excuse).

 

[Vayra86]

No I wouldn't say so. I already explained it, more realism is more than just "subjectively better". It's objectively better and more realistic. And it has a reason the Doom and Quake esports genre is everything but dead. All the really successful esports titles today have a low TTK not a long one where you can endlessly bait your opponent. And exactly that is the downside of OW. Baiting and endlessly jumping around is a lot of things, but it's not elegant or great. Even Valorant itself is too chaotic, just because it has some chaos via skills, already that makes it way less watchable than CS esports (and it has easier movement/shooting mechanics). OW? Not even worth talking about.

But its not about watching it being played or being 'as Esports capable as possible' is it.

Its about being fun. I played a wide range of shooters and honestly, there's a place for the team based, higher TTK styled games. They have their own perks. In multiplayer there isn't a thing as 'objectively better' its simply about where the crowds converge and where they desire to stay. That was OW for a long long time for a lot of people, same as it was for UT99, Doom, Quake etc. A huge part of multiplayer gaming is also the community vibe, it can make or break games, and the best communities also have good social tools in the games themselves. I'd say that's almost as important as everything else.

There are no clear cut groups of players liking the realism over the fun factor. They all just move back and forth between games and things go in and out of fashion all the time.

Just tried for 15min then delete, it's an overwatch clone with marvels skin

One needs just 30 seconds of trailer to figure that out Its almost a shameless copy.

 

[Onasi]

Overwatch, never warmed up to the idea that you have to shoot opponents a very long time until they die, and then the inferior (too easy, too much precision while moving) shooting mechanics compared to games such as CS or Valorant. I would even prefer CoD.

Overwatch, prior to OW2 Season 9, was quite literally THE hardest game to master aiming in by quite a wide margin. The abundance of movement abilities, characters having different hitboxes and, most importantly, complete lack of movement acceleration famously made OW the game in which aiming was the hardest, yet paradoxically meant the least for many characters.
And no, the fact that CS/Val have movement penalties to spread doesn’t automatically a better/harder experience make. Comparing tac shooters to OW or Quake/UT in this case is wild.

But its not about watching it being played or being 'as Esports capable as possible' is it.

Fucking bingo. That was what actually semi-killed OW in the long term - they actively tried too hard making it “e-sports viable” because of OWL even though everyone was telling them it wasn’t and fundamentally couldn’t be. E-sports FPS have to be very simple for viewing purposes. Watching OW is incomprehensible even for someone who actually knows the game.

 

[HOkay]

I thoroughly enjoyed OW for a long time, I only stopped due to friends stopping & having kids so losing the time. I'm 37 & have played quite a lot of multiplayer games & I'd say I've probably had the most multiplayer fun in OW of all multiplayer games I've played. CS, BF3, RL are all up there too, but I think the best OW games were probably the best of the lot thanks to team dynamics coming together nicely to flip a game or whatever.

Saying it's a bad game because it's not realistic is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. I guess Minecraft or Fortnite or WoW or Rocket League are bad games too then? Popular doesn't always mean good, but games are usually popular because people find them fun.

As Vayra86 said above, the clue is really in the name: "game". Its purpose is to be entertaining (& make the creators money). Sometimes people want a tense realistic game, sometimes people want some fun fast-paced chaos.
Anyway, OW but Marvel sounds like the perfect game for me so I'm very interested in trying it out!

 

[kapone32]

Liking more realism in a Video Game is subjective. Some people play Video Games to escape or simulate things that they can't do in real life. The kicker is that this is a Game that is styled after one of the most successful Games in this era of E sports. What some forget also is that Marvel is a part of the culture equation so as long as the Game is in service there will be Marvel fans of all ages checking this out.

I thoroughly enjoyed OW for a long time, I only stopped due to friends stopping & having kids so losing the time. I'm 37 & have played quite a lot of multiplayer games & I'd say I've probably had the most multiplayer fun in OW of all multiplayer games I've played. CS, BF3, RL are all up there too, but I think the best OW games were probably the best of the lot thanks to team dynamics coming together nicely to flip a game or whatever.

Saying it's a bad game because it's not realistic is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. I guess Minecraft or Fortnite or WoW or Rocket League are bad games too then? Popular doesn't always mean good, but games are usually popular because people find them fun.

As Vayra86 said above, the clue is really in the name: "game". Its purpose is to be entertaining (& make the creators money). Sometimes people want a tense realistic game, sometimes people want some fun fast-paced chaos.
Anyway, OW but Marvel sounds like the perfect game for me so I'm very interested in trying it out!

Makes any Space Sim, Sci fi or Fantasy based ARPgs and TWWH3 not Games as none of that is real. I am willing to bet that most people would enjoy Everspace2 and Redout 2.

 

[ZoneDymo]

Just tried for 15min then delete, it's an overwatch clone with marvels skin

sounds good to me, playing overwatch AND not supporting Activision/Blizzard? sign me up.

 

[TheLostSwede]

Not awful, not great. Ok, so I have only played two matches, but it doesn't feel like it's a game I will spend a lot of time playing.

 

[Darmok N Jalad]

What I’ve been looking for is something to fill in for Destiny 2. In don’t like PVP or PVE. I like PV…CPU? Destiny 2 has the Vanguard stuff, where you do 3 players versus an onslaught of baddies. It actually feels more team-centered, where you have to use some strategy to survive, and your teammates can revive you instead of just waiting 20-30 seconds for a respawn. I know you can get that with PVP teams, but whatever game I try, I seem to run into the same issues of imbalanced teams or little team strategy and support. I guess it probably exists out there, but I feel like Bungie actually got that concept right. It’s just buried in a sea of other playing options, unfortunately.

 

[Onasi]

@Darmok N Jalad
Vermintide 2 / DarkTide? Killing Floor? CoD Zombies? Sounds like something you are looking for.

 

[HOkay]

Don't forget about Helldivers 2!

 

[scottslayer]

I was inspired to actually play the game and 5 matches later I can say...I dont recommend this game.
Several of the DPS characters appear to be unbalanced and have roll face on keyboard to win as mechanics, no one wants to play support unless its Loki because Loki is ""cool"" or the sharkdog because of the piss easy playstyle, cookie cutter game modes, UE5 albatross causing random halving of frame rates and weird stutters in menus, the game launcher needs admin permissions on startup, pretty much zero team coordination in a team game , reminds me HEAVILY of other hero shooters who will remain unnamed.
Got very big "roll or stomp" feelings from the game, not good.
I am not feeling enthusiastic at all about playing further, so I won't.