NetEase Games has finally shed details on Marvel Rivals Season 1, which has now been given the subtitle “Eternal Night.” After the success of Season 0, this will be the first major update for NetEase’s superhero shooter. Like many expected, four fantastic heroes have been confirmed for this season, alongside new story developments and various fixes.
It will be interesting to see how the first season does, now that the shooter is over a month old. Players have enjoyed what they played of the previous season, so the devs will need to be careful about any major changes made. Still, with millions of players enjoying the free-to-play shooter, any quibbles fans might have could be few and far between.
Without further ado, here’s what we know about Eternal Night.
Release date
Marvel Rivals Season 1: Eternal Night will arrive on January 10, 2025, at 1 AM PST. Now fans know when to log in to the game and experience some of the new content that this season is bringing. Thankfully, that’s not too far away, so players can try out these brand-new developments soon.
The length for Eternal Night hasn’t been revealed, though NetEase said each season would last for around three months. If everything goes according to plan, we should be getting the second season in late March or early April. Only time will tell, but players are finally getting new content for this shooter.
New Characters
Despite showing every member of the Fantastic Four, Marvel Rivals Season 1 will be spacing them out. Mr. Fantastic and Invisible Woman will be coming out in the first part of Season 1, while The Thing and Human Torch will come out in the second half of this period. That should be enough time for players to try them out and see if they like these new characters.
Leaks originally claimed that Ultron would be coming out in Season 1, but it looks like those plans have been delayed. There’s always a chance that he could release alongside Human Torch and The Thing, but that seems pretty doubtful. Adding him to the vampire-themed first season would be odd, though fans are wondering why Blade isn’t in this first season.
Skins
Because Mr. Fantastic and Invisible Woman are coming to the game, these two characters are immediately getting skins. The official Rivals account confirmed that Mr. Fantastic’s skin will be The Maker, an alternate version of Reed Richards who has since become a villain. Invisible Woman’s Malice skin was also shown off and many fans are going to enjoy it.
These two skins will be available on January 10, so fans who enjoy how these two play can immediately buy them. Fans of the comics will get a kick out of seeing The Maker here, since he’s proven to be quite a villain in recent storylines. Malice isn’t as memorable, but her design will have people talking.
New Maps
Players will soon be able to shoot each other in new maps for Marvel Rivals Season 1. Eternal Night will be bringing the following maps to the game (via HoshizoraOW):
- Sanctum Sanctorum (arcade)
- Empire of Eternal Night Midtown (convoy)
- Empire of Eternal Night Central Park (TBD)
Having new areas to play in is always a good thing, especially since playing in the same maps over and over can get repetitive. Fans of hero shooters are used to this, but the variety will be appreciated by many. While we aren’t expecting new maps in every update, seeing them pop up once in a while will always make fans happy.
Balance Changes
During the Dev Vision Vol. 3 presentation, it was announced that various characters in the game are getting balance changes. Both Hawkeye and Hela will be getting nerfed, as these characters have been a pain to many. On the flipside, Captain America and Venom are getting buffed to make them more agile tanks.
Improvements for Cloak & Dagger, Jeff the Landshark, and more were also discussed, but the full details weren’t given. The devs did say that patch notes will be coming soon, so fans can expect to see them alongside this update’s release.
For now, that’s everything we know about Marvel Rivals Season 1: Eternal Night. Players who want to know more about Rivals can check out our hubs on The Hood and Emma Frost.