When ‘Marvel Rivals‘ was released in late 2024, it looked like it was an unstoppable beast. A hero shooter that fused aspects of Marvel comics with an ‘Overwatch‘-like gameplay perspective, the game burst year on the scene with more than 10 million players in its first 72 hours and a peak of over 644,000 concurrent players on Steam as of January 2025.
Yet less than one year later, the numbers tell a much different story, a decline of over 85%, with Steam peaks now averaging below 100,000. So what really happened to one of the most anticipated live-service games of 2025?
What Really Happened To ‘Marvel Rivals’?
Though the decline of ‘Marvel Rivals‘ was not sudden, it was nonetheless inevitable. The game, which topped charts early in the year, lost players quickly. Steam peaks dropped from 644,000 in May 2025 to approximately 148,000. By October, it dropped from 148,000 to below 100,000, according to SteamDB.
While 98,000 concurrent users is still quite impressive, the issue is the trendline. The game is not stable yet, and its decline evokes a common arc for when early hype overshadows long-term design. There isn’t any concrete reason behind this setback, but there are some probable ones:
The Weight of the Competitive Grind
A prominent vocal complaint in the community is about the ranked mode in ‘Marvel Rivals.‘ Regardless of very solid mechanics, the absence of a role queue combined with an inconsistent ranking system turned competitive play from more fun into more stress.
Players voiced in-game problems with toxic team compositions, a poor matchmaking system, and imbalances between classes, most notably in Strategist heroes. The competitive grind crystallized quickly from exciting to exhausting. With little meaningful progression and no real matchmaking system, most players just walked away.
Content Fatigue and Balance Struggles Of ‘Marvel Rivals’
NetEase has rapidly released new characters and updates for the game – almost once a month. While this most likely would have kept the game fresh, it ended up being the opposite. Players became fatigued with recurring balance issues and overpowered new heroes, resulting in very unpredictable gameplay and frequently unbalanced matches.
To add more frustration, it seemed like every update only brought temporary positive momentum to player count, and then numbers fell back down. Fans of the Marvel brand became fatigued with game updates as they didn’t seem to improve the overall game experience.
The Competition Fights Back
The hero shooter market is notoriously challenging. While ‘Overwatch 2,‘ ‘Apex Legends,‘ and ‘Valorant‘ own the genre, they too have seen declines and eventually recovery through effective communication, investing in eSports, and developing trust in their communities.
‘Marvel Rivals‘ competitive ecosystem is still in its infancy. While there have been smaller community events, there has not been a consistent competitive model or a tournament circuit to keep the best competitors engaged.
As a result, many have returned to games with a more established competitive scene. Ironically, ‘Overwatch 2‘ has even rebounded to pre-Rivals player numbers, while ‘Marvel Rivals‘ continues to decline.
‘Marvel Rivals’ Live-Service Reality Check
While an 85% drop sounds terrifying, it’s not abnormal for this kind of software service. Games like ‘Apex Legends‘ and ‘Naraka: Bladepoint‘ also experienced steep losses from their initial audiences before recovering. Average player count for ‘Marvel Rivals‘ on PC, now at a healthy, ~60,000-80,000 daily, compared to other free-to-play shooters one year post-launch.
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However, this game’s success will not come simply from ongoing content drops, or updates, in a service model. Players want to know what is happening with the game and want to feel that competition is fair and affordable to compete in – all areas where ‘Marvel Rivals‘ struggles.
What Does NetEase Needs To Do To Fix The State Of ‘Marvel Rivals’?
NetEase has been taking the feedback from players. Developers have started buffing the Strategist class characters, matchmaking has been improved, and there are planned leader board changes that address ranked lifecycle complaints. However, recovery isn’t as simple as a few patches.
For ‘Marvel Rivals‘ to successfully bring back players, it needs:
- A healthy competitive ecosystem with enough role queue and properly functioning MMR.
- More balanced seasons focused on gameplay and the experience rather than new heroes.
- Better communication with the community, similar to Blizzard’s ‘Overwatch 2‘ open development discussion.
- A legitimate reason for lapsed players to engage – outside of skins or battle passes.
The Road Ahead
‘Marvel Rivals‘ has had its ups and downs, but it isn’t finished yet. It still has a core audience, solid graphics, and the backing of the Marvel brand. If NetEase wishes to recover from its mistakes, take on fewer users, and renounce the desire for explosive approaches to growth, they could revive the game.
The rising and falling story of ‘Marvel Rivals‘ isn’t strictly a failure — after all, even the most powerful brands can’t do much about the lives of the live-service grind. The coming months will clarify whether ‘Marvel Rivals‘ can transition from being a temporary splash in a hero shooter, to a long-term multiplayer reality.
