Two Seasons In, It’s Clear Marvel Rivals Has the Upper Hand on Overwatch 2 in One Area

Since its release last December, Marvel Rivals has skyrocketed in popularity. It first gained traction by combining the 6v6 hero shooter format popularized by Overwatch with a roster of popular Marvel characters like Spider-Man, Captain America, and Wolverine. However, as the game continues to grow, Marvel Rivals‘ prioritization of the playerbase has become one of its most appealing aspects.

With each of the game’s updates, Marvel Rivals‘ development team has made noticeable changes to address fan demands and overall quality of life. Characters and their team-ups are regularly rebalanced; in-game systems like rankings and the UI have been tweaked; and in one of their frequently released Dev Vision videos, the team has confirmed that they will soon be decreasing the length of seasons to ensure that players get new content at a faster rate. Marvel Rivals has also received praise for its handling of certain cosmetic items — especially when compared to Overwatch 2.

How Marvel Rivals Delivers on Free Skins

Though the majority of Marvel Rivals‘ cosmetics can only be obtained through the in-game store, a surprising number of free skins have been made available for players to unlock just by playing the game. Each season has offered up multiple free Marvel Rivals skins that can be obtained by participating in events, reaching Gold 3 in ranked, or completing certain pages of the battle pass. When the game first released, the developers made the Iron Man Armor Model 42 skin free to claim for anyone, and the Spider-Man Scarlet Spider skin is still free for anyone who downloads the game on the PlayStation Store.

Marvel Rivals’ Free Skins Compared to Overwatch 2’s

Even before its release, Marvel Rivals has consistently been compared to Overwatch 2. Both are free-to-play hero shooters with similar modes and character archetypes. However, despite having less content than the popular Blizzard game, many Overwatch 2 players jumped ship to Marvel Rivals. Besides being a newer, shinier game, Marvel Rivals quickly addressed a major frustration that has plagued Overwatch 2 fans in regard to skins.

Ever since its shift to a controversial free-to-play model, Overwatch 2 has seen a drastic increase in monetization compared to the first game. Cosmetics are on the pricier side, and previous seasons have limited the amount of free credits that OW2 players can earn. Not only does Marvel Rivals provide players with plenty of opportunities to unlock in-game credits for free, but the free skins that players can unlock tend to be much more desirable than those in Overwatch 2.

Being able to unlock the occasional free skin in Overwatch 2 is a nice counterweight to the game’s more costly cosmetics, but many of these free skins end up being older skins or simple palette swaps of characters’ default skins. However, in Marvel Rivals, many of the free skins on offer are unique skins that significantly change up a character’s look. Outfits like Thor’s Reborn from Ragnarok skin or Wolverine’s Patch skin are not only visually distinct cosmetics but also represent some of the characters’ most popular outfits from the comics. These easily could have been premium cosmetics, so making skins like these free to earn not only gets goodwill for Marvel Rivals, but it makes the prospect of grinding out for a skin much more appealing than it is to unlock a simple recolor skin in Overwatch 2.

Marvel Rivals

9/10

Released

December 6, 2024

ESRB

T For Teen // Violence

Developer(s)

NetEase Games

Publisher(s)

NetEase Games

Engine

Unreal Engine 5