Marvel Rivals Hits 444K Players Within Hours of Launch

image of marvel rivals
Credit: NetEase Games

image of marvel rivals
Credit: NetEase Games

Netsease Games' Marvel Rivals is one of the biggest games this December, alongside the fantastic Indiana Jones and the Great Circle.

Released this December 6, Marvel Rivals had a fantastic start with more than 322k players less than 30 minutes after its launch.

While the game had a shaky playtest, players were amazed at the servers' stability. In a Reddit post showcasing the game's massive Steam player count, fans were impressed that they could queue and find a match even at 2 am EU time.

image of marvel rivals
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Credit: NetEase Games

Marvel Rivals' Steam player count peaked at 444,286, which speaks volumes about how massive a game can be if it's free to play and a Marvel title. Despite the failure of Marvel's Avengers, Marvel fans still love the franchise and will undoubtedly play it as long as there's good content.

While Steam charts only reflect the player count on the digital storefront, console players confirm that finding a match for them is "quicker than a hiccup."

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Several Marvel Rivals fans already come from Overwatch, and many of them say that Marvel Rivals feels like Overwatch when it launched. Additionally, some others mention that Blizzard will have a hard time this month, considering that the Diablo-rival Path of Exile 2 also launches its early access today, December 6.

Free-to-play games like Marvel Rivals will have to depend on different microtransactions and season passes to sustain revenue in the long term. While the game is as fun right now as it seems, the next challenge is making the consequent updates and seasons as interesting as its launch.

2024 has set the bar too low for some games that Marvel Rival's peak of 444k players on Steam already looks overwhelmingly impressive compared to Concord's abysmal 607 peak players on Steam. August 2024 was so unforgiving just like some of the Black Myth: Wukong's enemy bosses.

Whether you will be playing Path of Exile, Marvel Rivals, or Indiana Jones and the Great Circle this coming weekend, be sure to stay updated with the latest gaming news and stories by following Gfinity Esports.

READ MORE: $400 Million and 8 Years of Development: What Went Wrong with Concord?