Marvel Rivals, the free to download game from NetEase Games, produced in collaboration with Marvel Entertainment, has become incredibly popular among gamers, and it is one of the greatest things that could happen to the comic book industry. WithMarvel Rivalsallowing players toselect from a wide variety of Marvel characters,a new generation of potential comic readers are discovering their love for the publisher’s heroes and villains.
Marvel Rivalswas released in late 2024 on PS5, Windows, and Xbox Series X/S. The 6v6 third-person shooter title allows players to select their favorite Marvel heroes, or villains, and fight against other online players in different game modes.
Marvel Rivalshas been downloaded by twenty million people, and on June 30, 2025, reached a significant milestone, with 644,269 players active all at the same time. For Marvel Comics, this has turned out to be one of their most unexpectedly successful forays into another medium since the MCU.
“Marvel Rivals” Is The Perfect Use Of The Video Game Medium To Promote The Publisher’s Comics
Comic Sellers Recognize An Opportunity
Bedrock Comics, located in Houston, Texas is one store taking advantage ofMarvel Rivals’popularity, and using it to advertise Marvel Comics in their store. They did this by hanging drawings of theMarvel Rivals’character designson the comic shelves, as well as sticking images of the heroes and their catchphrases to their appropriate comic books. That way, theMarvel Rivalsplayers coming into the store can easily find their favorite characters and read more about them. The character posters were drawn by talented artist@jewelianism.
There are a lot of characters inMarvel Rivalsthat are not yet in the MCU, and the only way to get more of the characters players enjoy in the game is to turn to the comics.
Bedrock City Comics are not the only location to be doing this, nor should they be. A lot of Marvel fans’extent of Marvel knowledge ends with the MCUand other Marvel movies, butMarvel Rivalsoffers incentive to go back to the source material.There are a lot of characters inMarvel Rivalsthat are not yet in the MCU, and the only way to get more of the characters players enjoy in the game is to turn to the comics. This will open the floodgates for many fans to get into Marvel Comics, and the comic medium as a whole.
“Marvel Rivals” Is Quickly Turning Obscure Comic Book Characters Into Fan Favorite Fighters
Giving Players A Reason To Check Out The Source Material
Some Marvel characters fromMarvel Rivalsarecoming to the MCU very soon, like Mister Fantastic and Invisible Woman, and others like Magik and Psylocke have been in the X-Men movies. Yet the game also features characters like Jeff the Land Shark, who may not appear in any Marvel movie or TV show for the foreseeable future. It is these characters that reveal to new or casual Marvel fans that there is so much more to the publisher than just what is seen in the mainstream media, and will hopefully lead them towards the original source: the comics.
Marvel Rivals Is Growing, And It’s Getting Ready to Take Over Some Key Comics
Marvel Rivals is bringing its character designs to the comics with a new selection of jaw-dropping variant covers for upcoming stories.
Marvel has already released variant covers with artwork from the game, but if Marvel wants to continue to capitalize onthe success ofRivals, they should be adding unlockable cosmetics in their comics, like Fortnite did with their crossover titles; this could very well draw in moreMarvel Rivalsfans to the comics than ever before.Marvel Rivalsmay be the greatest thing to happen to the comic book industry in a long time, and Marvel should be taking advantage of this incredible opportunityto boost sales of their comics.
