Marvel Rivals Soars Past Player Record in Season 1

Marvel Rivals has smashed its own concurrent player record with the arrival of Season 1, bringing a host of fresh content. Learn all about the new features that have fans buzzing with excitement!

Marvel Rivals Surpasses 600,000 Peak Players

Season 1 Introduces Exciting New Content

Marvel Rivals is soaring to new heights! The hit free-to-play team shooter has shattered its previous player record after kicking off Season 1: Eternal Night Falls.

Season 1, named Eternal Night Falls, launched on January 10th and packed in loads of fresh content—new heroes, a new battleground, gameplay refinements, a higher-ranked tier, and a brand new Battle Pass. When the weekend arrived, players worldwide jumped onto the servers to dive into the latest additions, culminating in a staggering 644,269 concurrent players on January 11th. This impressive new peak dwarfs the game's earlier record of 480,990 players during its launch week.

Eternal Night Falls revolves around the vampire lord Dracula and Doctor Doom, who cloak the city in perpetual night and unleash hordes of vampires to expand Dracula’s Empire of Eternal Night. To face this growing threat, the heroes welcome a powerful new alliance—the Fantastic Four! With such an action-packed season underway, fans couldn’t wait to jump in.

Players eager to explore detailed character skill adjustments can find comprehensive patch notes on the official Marvel Rivals website or through the Marvel Rivals Steam community hub.

New Update Disables Mods

While the update brought a wealth of new features, it also removed some fan favorites—namely, player-created mods. The latest patch appears to have introduced asset hash verification, which scans for discrepancies between the official game files and those on a user's system. Any unauthorized alterations—including cheats, hacks, and regrettably, custom mods—can trigger a warning or even a permanent suspension. While this system helps curb cheating, it also prevents players from using custom skins and other fan-driven enhancements.

Reactions from the community have been mixed. Some fans expressed disappointment over losing beloved mods like Luna Snow’s Hatsune Miku skin and Venom's unique visual upgrades. Others, however, believe the move benefits the free-to-play title, whose revenue relies heavily on cosmetics and in-game purchases, and helps maintain fair competition by reducing malicious activity.