Marvel Rivals gets another Overwatch 2 staple as NetEase adds placement matches to combat smurf accounts, but don't expect it at Season 4's launch

Marvel Rivals is finally getting placement matches after months of ranked misery, but it's still a little bit away.

I'm not huge on multiplayer games outside fighting games and Fortnite (the latter of which mainly because you don't need to think while playing it), but I've been enjoying Marvel Rivals as someone who was in the Overwatch mines for the first year or two. But one aspect I find miserable is Ranked play, and I can hear you say "of course it's miserable, it's ranked play" and you're right, but Marvel Rivals is a special breed thanks to the multitude of smurf accounts – alternate accounts made by more experienced players looking to pick on lower-ranked people.

Thankfully, Netease is listening, and in the latest developer diary (via TheGamer) Marvel Rivals lead combat designer Zhiyong confirms that placement matches will be coming to the game. However, he says "it's a complex feature with a lot of moving parts," while confirming that "placement matches won't be ready for Season 4, but we are pushing forward as quickly as we can".

Rival hero shooter Overwatch 2 implemented placement matches last year (after being a staple in other genres like fighting games for a long time), and so far people seem to like it, so it makes sense for Marvel to get on board.

While placement matches don't entirely take smurfs out of the equation, it does mean in theory you should be placed in matches with players around your skill level once you're actually given your rank at the end of them. Unless, of course, they also smurf through their placement matches to get a low rank, but surely no one is going to do that, right…?

Plus, the seasonal rank reset doesn't seem to be going away, so you'll still be contending with players who have returned to the game after a while (I mean, I will be now that Daredevil is coming, but I'm silver rank at best, don't worry).

Marvel Rivals season 4 launches in September with Angela, Daredevil, and a PS4 release.