Marvel Rivals‘ Season 3.5 update has finally graced Steam with its shadowy, Blade The Daywalker-shaped presence. Unfortunately, some players, myself included, have encountered a one-of-a-kind technical issue that’s making it tricky to download the ever-expanding hero shooter’s latest add-on.
The Content File Locked error is a unique download bug that ruffled Marvel Rivals players’ feathers last season. Few things in the gaming life are more frustrating than getting shut out of your favorite game’s latest content drop by a glitch, but thankfully, this digital knot is easy to untangle.
Marvel Rivals Season 3.5 “Content File Locked” causes and fixes: explained
As far as I can tell, the Content File Locked issue is exclusive to Marvel Rivals. That’s not where the weirdness stops, either: it appears that the issue only affects specific update files from the game. According to this post on Marvel Rivals‘ Steam Community page and another post on the game’s primary Reddit thread, the Content File Locked issue first reared up in December of last year when Marvel Rivals made its record-breaking launch.
I’m not tech-savvy enough to explain what causes the Content File Locked glitch, and no one else online seems to know, either. Luckily, there are a few tried-and-true ways to resolve the issue.
One of the most reliable ways to fix the Content File Locked issue is to go into your computer’s Task Manager and see if the Marvel Rivals launcher is running while the game is off. This issue sometimes occurs when you shut off the game, and it can cause lots of problems when you try to start it up again. If it is, right-click on the task and turn it off. This seems to be the best way to clear up the issue, but there are other ways to do it if it doesn’t work.
Another way Marvel Rival players resolved the Content File Locked glitch was by uninstalling and reinstalling the game. If the Task Manager trick doesn’t work, you might have to do this. To do this, open up your Steam Library, right-click on the Marvel Rivals tag, and open the Manage window. From there, hit the “Uninstall” option and confirm your intent on the window that pops up. After uninstalling the game, reinstall it, and the update patch should be available for download.
If you’re a fan of Riot Games, you might need to employ a unique solution to fix the Content File Locked issue. I have no proof of this, but one Reddit poster claimed they couldn’t download Marvel Rivals Season 3.5 while Valorant or League of Legends was running on their PC. According to them, something in the game’s software affected Marvel Rivals, but it resolved itself after they shut down both games.
Speaking for myself, I resolved the Content File Locked issue by invoking the old reliable tech support: turning my PC on and off again. Once my laptop was up and running again, I could download the Season 3.5 patch without running into any issues. So far, everything seems to work fine, and I’ve already had the pleasure of playing Blade a few times. Any frustration still in me evaporated after a few crimson sword swings, and hopefully, the same will be true for you.
