Marvel Rivals hit a new impressive peak player count number with the launch of Season 1 as it continues to dominate in both active players and in streaming.
2024 gave rise to multiple surprise hits, ranging from Palworld to Black Myth: Wukong. While the excitement behind most of these games has eventually dwindled, Marvel Rivals is one of the only games to maintain its hype going into 2025. The hero shooter dominates social media with countless memes and videos, attracting new players on a seemingly daily basis.
Season 1: Eternal Night Falls Official Trailer | Marvel Rivals
Marvel Rivals isn’t losing any steam either as it launchs its first season in January 2025. With new characters, modes, and tweaks to ensure that some heroes aren’t overpowered, fans wonder if the game will fall off or if it’s the Overwatch 2 killer many claimed it could be.
The Marvel Rivals player count has peaked at 642,333 upon the launch of Season 1 on January 10, 2025.
Marvel Rivals came out on December 6, 2024, and instantly won over the internet. With new takes on familiar characters and the freedom to let players choose the team compositions they most want, it quickly attracted both hardcore and casual players alike. The game launched with Season 0, which served as an introduction to Marvel Rivals.
Season 1 came out a little over a month after the game’s launch, bringing with it a bevy of new content. New characters Invisible Woman and Mr. Fantastic attracted players to try them out. Invisible Woman especially became the topic of several memes thanks to her conventionally attractive character model, and her addition to the Marvel Rivals character roster prompted fans to give her a shot.
Arguably the biggest reason for Marvel Rivals’ success is how the game is marketed. Most players learned about the hero shooter in two ways. Either they saw a post on social media or their favorite content creator was playing Marvel Rivals. Neither marketing tactic seems to be dying out, especially considering the game’s numbers on Twitch. Marvel Rivals will likely remain highly relevant as long as the excitement on social media and streaming platforms remains around the game. New players will continue to jump into the game for the first time to get in on the hype.
Whether Marvel Rivals is better than Overwatch 2 is subjective, but Marvel Rivals has definitely become the more popular game.
Overwatch was massive when it came out in 2016. The game dominated social media and won coveted Game of the Year awards. But thanks to several decisions made by Blizzard Entertainment since, as well as myriad controversies involving the studio, the game’s player count continually dropped. Overwatch never regained its initial level excitement, even after Overwatch 2 launched as a free-to-play title. That isn’t to say Overwatch 2 is dead, as the game still has a dedicated player base. But it has clearly lagged behind.
Marvel Rivals is the big new hero shooter in town. Using Twitch as an example, the Marvel Rivals category has the second-highest number of viewers with the launch of Season 1, slightly behind Just Chatting. While Marvel Rivals consistently hits over 150,000 live concurrent viewers, Overwatch 2 struggles to hit even 10,000.
The Marvel-based hero shooter is more relevant than Overwatch 2 thanks to its recent release. It remains to be seen if it maintains its player base and establishes its spot as the next big hero shooter or if the game dies down after its initial hype fades.
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