Marvel Rivals Shatters Player Count Record with Season 1 Launch
The free-to-play team-based shooter, Marvel Rivals, has once again broken its own concurrent player record, reaching a staggering 644,269 peak players on January 11th following the launch of Season 1: Eternal Night Falls. This surpasses its previous high of 480,990 players set during its initial launch week.
Season 1: Eternal Night Falls – A Night of New Content
Launched on January 10th, Season 1 introduced a wealth of new content, igniting player enthusiasm and driving the impressive player surge. Key additions include:
- New playable characters
- A brand-new map
- Game performance improvements and optimizations
- A revamped ranked tier system
- A fresh Battle Pass
The influx of new content, centered around the villainous duo of Dracula and Doctor Doom, and the addition of the Fantastic Four to the heroic roster, clearly resonated with players.
For detailed patch notes, including character skill adjustments, visit the official Marvel Rivals website or the Steam community hub.
The Double-Edged Sword of Anti-Cheat Measures
While the update brought joy to many, it also resulted in the removal of community-created mods due to the implementation of asset hash checking. This security measure, designed to detect and prevent cheating and hacking, unfortunately also blocks unofficial modifications, including custom skins.
This change has sparked a mixed reaction within the community. While some mourn the loss of custom content like Luna Snow's Hatsune Miku skin, others support the move as a necessary step to maintain fairness and protect the game's economy, which relies on cosmetic purchases.