Marvel Rivals is more popular than ever, soaring past 570K Steam players to set a new record as Season 1 launches

Marvel Rivals' Steam player count has surged to an all-time high of over 570,000 as of writing as fans flood the hero shooter for its Season 1 launch.

"Eternal night has fallen over Manhattan and the entire Earth has been affected!" Marvel Rivals says in a Twitter post. "The first chapter of the Midnight Features Season Event has arrived! Join the heroes under the veil of darkness to unravel the full picture, complete missions and claim your rewards!"  

"Need Reed more than air," one fan replied, ignoring the proud call to arms and instead zeroing in on the graphic Marvel Rivals used of the, I'll note, incredibly bendy Reed Richards looking like a brooding lumberjack who's very, very disappointed in you. 

Anyway, "make sure not to miss the action and complete all missions to get additional milestone rewards!" Marvel Rivals continues. Midnight Features' first chapter will only be available to play until February 7, which partially accounts for why Marvel Rivals suddenly seems to be setting a new player record every few minutes. 

But it's also true that Marvel Rivals has simply been consistently, wildly popular in the month since its release, typically hovering around 400,000 concurrent players. 

The first half of its Season 1 ups the ante by adding Reed – Mister Fantastic – and Sue Storm, or Invisible Woman, who has her own share of vocal admirers, as all of the game's superheroes try to fend off Dracula. If Marvel Rivals' ascending playerbase is any indication, I'd say that there are enough people who are up to the challenge. 

As Marvel Rivals booms, a former Overwatch pro is begging players to "let me move on" from the C9 meme.