Marvel Rivals pulls another Overwatch, adds PvE "Marvel Zombies-inspired" mode in time for its first Halloween event with 5 playable heroes

Undead Thanos with the Infinity Gauntlet in Marvel Zombies — (Image credit: Disney/Marvel Studios)

The relationship between Marvel Rivals and Overwatch is poetic. It almost rhymes. And just as Overwatch added a PvE horde mode during its first spooky season many moons ago, Marvel Rivals is doing the same thing to celebrate its very own first Halloween event.

NetEase just announced the shooter's "first-ever" PvE mode coming October 23, and in an era of endless collabs, Marvel Rivals has chosen to collab with itself. Kinda. The survival mode is "Marvel Zombies-inspired" and was made in part with the animated Disney Plus show's creative team too, according to game producer Danny Koo and Marvel Studios' head of streaming Brad Winderbaum.

The idea is more or less the same as Overwatch 2's annual Junkenstein's Revenge mode. There are increasingly tough waves of enemies to kill (this time zombies instead of robots), with bosses based on playable heroes waiting at the end (zombified Namor and the Queen of the Dead instead of Junkrat). I won't spoil who the 'Queen of the Dead' is here, but you likely have a good idea if you've seen the show.

First-Ever PvE Mode: Marvel Zombies I Announce Trailer | Marvel Rivals - YouTube

Watch On

The zombies mode also condenses the playable cast down to just five undead-bashers to choose from: Thor, Blade, Magik, Jeff, and The Punisher, each with some modified abilities. Good old Jeff can bash into enemies when swimming underground, for example, while Blade now has bouncing moon blades.

There's no word on how long you can squash zombie brains for, but you can take a quick peak at Marvel Rivals' Marvel Zombies mode above. A full trailer is said to be "coming soon." Fingers crossed we also get some rotting skins to go along with it.

Marvel Rivals Daredevil actor is actively encouraging players to be the worst versions of themselves: "The devil doesn't switch off, even when he's going negative"