Marvel Rivals Skins is off to a great start, but can't keep up with Overwatch 2

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Over the past few years, cosmetics have gradually become an ingrained part of the gaming world, especially in the live-service multiplayer genre. Cosmetics are often the best compromise between allowing developers to maintain a consistent revenue stream while not disrupting the actual mechanics or balancing of a game, which are completely optional purchases. Marvel Rivals has more than its fair share of optional, paid cosmetics at launch.




The developer NetEase fully embraces Marvel Rivals' premise, especially when it comes to the multiplayer game's plethora of alternate costumes. On launch day, players can discover a host of cosmetics inspired by every corner of the Marvel multimedia universe, from beloved comics to MCU movies. It's a really good start, but it's going to be difficult Marvel Rivals to keep all their fans happy when it comes to cosmetics, something like Overwatch 2 have learned over the past two years.

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Marvel Rivals: Team-Ups Explained (and All the Combos)

Marvel Rivals players can boost their character abilities by using the right team composition of heroes and villains.

Marvel Rivals cosmetics need to stay on track

Marvel Rivals' roster is treated equally when it comes to cosmetics

At launch, each of the Marvel Rivals' 33 playable heroes have at least two alternate skins (except Moon Knight) that players can unlock from either the Season 0 Battle Pass, the in-game store, or by completing specific achievements. While each character has an alternate outfit that's a fairly simple color palette change, the day-one cosmetic/s are much more distinct, often inspired by a specific Marvel series appearance or by an MCU design.


Of course, some characters have an additional outfit or two, like Spider-Man, Hela, and Hawkeye, but for the most part, everyone on the roster is treated equally on launch day. This approach is great to see, because when it comes to Marvel characters, every fan has their favorite. Ensuring that everyone on the roster has at least a handful of skins each means that every fan's favorite character is catered for, and every player is therefore incentivized to keep grinding to unlock their alternate outfits.

Marvel Rivals Can't Fall Into Overwatch 2's Cosmetic Pitfall

But Marvel Rivals' roster may not stay as long if it falls into the same trap as Overwatch 2 have often been in. Then Overwatch 2launch in October 2022, it has become apparent that Blizzard seems to prefer creating cosmetics for a certain handful of heroes. This is especially evident when watching Overwatch 2s latest crossovers.


Reinhardt has been one of the most obvious examples of Blizzard favoritism. Reinhardt was front and center Transformers, World of Warcraftand My Hero Academia collaborations. Kiriko is often cited as another main villain, and she has recently received several new skins. In the recently leaked Overwatch 2 x Avatar: The Last Airbender crossover, Kiriko is set to get a different skin, already drawing criticism for potentially appearing in place of a Katara-inspired outfit.

While heroes like Kiriko, Reinhardt, Mercy, Widowmaker, Ashe, and Genji are all getting new high rarity skins at a frequent rate, much of the roster is left in the dust. Of course, if a player's favorite character is one of the unfortunate ones left behind, it won't encourage them to continue playing, since they've probably already unlocked all the outfits available to them. Marvel Rivals need to make sure it doesn't favor the same handful of heroes every season.

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