The biggest Marvel game of this year finally has a launch date

A few months back, developer NetEase announced a super hero team-based shooter featuring Marvel's biggest heroes and villains. The game, Marvel Rivals, has been in beta testing for the past couple of months, but now we have an official launch date!

Announced at gamescom Opening Night, Marvel Rivals will release on December 6th of this year. It will be available for PC, Xbox Series X|S, and PlayStation 5.

The release date was announced alongside a trailer that revealed two more playable characters: Captain America and the Winter Soldier. The trailer teases their unique rivalry, while also showcasing their unique skills and powers. We also get to see gameplay on the new map, the Intergalactic Empire of Wakanda.

Captain America and the Winter Soldier join an ever-expanding roster that is already 20-plus characters deep. The roster ranges from some of Marvel's most well-known heroes and villains like Iron Man, Spider-Man, and Magneto to some lesser-known characters like Jeff the Land Shark.

In a surprising but welcomed announcement, NetEase confirmed that all of the characters in the game will be free to play as when the game launches. This means there will be no annoying unlock mechanic, such as having to buy them with real money (often converted into premium in-game currency), paying for access through a battle or season pass, or having to grind for a secondary type of currency to unlock them. This is fantastic news, especially as the roster is sure to continue to grow after launch.

Marvel Rivals is one of many Marvel games currently in development, but the only one with a 2024 launch as of right now. It's also one of the only multiplayer-centric games.

As you can see by the trailer above, gameplay is clearly inspired by another team-based shooter, Blizzard's Overwatch. Combat is primarily third-person shooting, but characters have unique abilities that they can use when situations get dicey.