There are currently 37 playable heroes in Marvel Rivals, a sort of mind-boggling number when you remember that the mega-shooter only came out around four months ago and its already welcomed four new fantastic characters in that time. For reference - and I'm not saying quantity equals quality - the Overwatch 2 roster that first started growing in 2016 has 42 heroes. But Marvel Rivals' executive producer isn't worried about the game becoming bloated as they continue to pump out playable characters.
Developer NetEase has already promised that new heroes would be coming to Marvel Rivals every six weeks, so if the shooter is going to live as long as other mammoth hits, what's the ceiling? 60 heroes? 100 heroes? 1050? We asked Marvel Games executive producer Danny Koo about what the limit is, and in a Mean Girls twist, it turns out that the limit doesn't really exist.
"You know, the team is super excited," Koo says. "Like, there's no limit for the sky. We just throw everything at it, and fun chaos is the key, and the more we have on our roster, the more options for the player. The rosters are free, so you can play anybody you want, which is a great way of not only introducing new characters who you might not be familiar with," like, let's say, Luna Snow or Jeff the Land Shark, "and get to know them through Marvel Rivals."
The burden on the team is somewhat lifted since they "know at each checkpoint how big the size of a given roster is," and they can always count on matches being a six-versus-six player ordeal, at least for the main mode. "There are always 12 heroes, so that's constant," Koo explains. "In terms of tech, that helps a lot, because, like, if it's not throwing 64 players in one room, then there'll be a different Tech Research, right?"
I don't doubt that NetEase has enough source material to keep going forever. Hell, if the MCU is any proof, they can give any random background character the star treatment. The only questions now are: can NetEase continue to make them fun, balanced, and unique enough to warrant being added in the first place? Only time will tell.
The upcoming Marvel Rivals heroes we know about are already shaping up to be beefy indeed.
