Marvel Rivals Season 2 is just days away, meaning you’ll be able to jump into the next season of Marvel Rivals, and try out the new Heroes soon. There’s a ton of changes coming to the game in the next few months, including a shift in how Team Ups work, and an overhaul of the missions system. If things pan out, it should be easier than ever to earn new cosmetics, and work your way through the Battle Pass.
What’s new in Marvel Rivals?
Marvel Rivals is currently primed and ready for a new season. Developer NetEase has released the full patch notes for the next update, which will add new Heroes, maps, and more. There’s still time to work your way through the current Battle Pass, which features an awesome Wolverine skin in its final tier. For now, three strategist teams appear to be the meta, though I’m hoping Season 2 will disrupt this, giving teams more choice in how they play. We’ll have to wait and see.
In my Marvel Rivals review, I praised the game’s huge suite of Heroes, and the surprising amount of depth found when trying out each one. With Season 2, there’s set to be two new Heroes, X-Men legend Emma Frost and the delightfully villainous Ultron. We know more about the former, with the latter arriving later on in the season. Since its launch, Marvel Rivals has changed quite a bit, adding smart changes to Competitive Mode while giving players something to work toward. It’s consistent updates like this that make Marvel Rivals a worthy inclusion in our best PC Games of 2025 list.
Here’s everything you need to know about the next season of Marvel Rivals, including when the current one ends, and what to expect from the new Heroes that are being added. As release day draws nearer, I’ll update this page with all of the latest news and info.
When is the next season of Marvel Rivals?
Marvel Rivals Season 2 will arrive on April 11, 2025. This means that it’ll launch at the following time according to your timezone:
- April 11 at 5AM PT: West Coast US
- April 11 at 8AM ET: East Coast US
- April 11 at 1PM BST: United Kingdom
- April 11 at 2PM CET: Central Europe
- April 11 at 9PM JST: Japan
The times above are based on the Tweet linked here, which gives an estimated downtime of 2-3 hours. Given that we now know when the game will go down for maintenance, I’ve approximated when it’ll be back up. This could differ on the day, depending on how the maintenance period goes.
When does the current season of Marvel Rivals end?
Marvel Rivals Season 1.5 will go offline for a few hours before the launch of the second season. Keep an eye on the official Marvel Rivals website for any changes. For now, here are the maintenance times for the scheduled downtime preceding Season 2:
- April 11 at 2AM PDT: West Coast US
- April 11 at 5AM ET: East Coast US
- April 11 at 10AM BST: United Kingdom
- April 11 at 11AM CET: Central Europe
- April 11 at 6PM JST: Japan
Marvel Rivals Emma Frost release date
Marvel Rivals will add Emma Frost at the launch of the new season on April 11. She’s a new Vanguard, operating on the front line of battle by utilizing telekinetic abilities and sheer brawling firepower. NetEase has fully detailed the character in the video below, which shows off each of her abilities.
It appears that she’ll have a decent bit of range, as well as the ability to apply her diamond skin and move in for close-quarters combat. She has an ultimate that damages multiple enemies at once with telekinetic beams while pulling them toward her.
There are some interesting details to Emma Frost’s kit that are worth diving into. Firstly, her dash and choke slam ability ends with a sweep kick which knocks enemies back. This can be used to throw an opponent off of an edge for a quick kill.
Emma Frost can also place diamond shields, using them to block Ultimates like Iron Man’s. This works similarly to Groot’s shield walls, in that there’s a fair bit of range to where you can place them.
Emma Frost joins Hulk, Doctor Strange, Venom, Captain America, The Thing, Groot, and Magneto as a Vanguard. Primarily, she will be used to tank damage on the frontline, though she clearly has a lot of potential as a brawler, and some support elements in her shielding abilities.
Emma Frost joins Hulk, Doctor Strange, Venom, Captain America, The Thing, Groot, and Magneto as a Vanguard. Primarily, she will be used to tank damage on the frontline, though she clearly has a lot of potential as a brawler, and some support elements in her shielding abilities.
I’m a Venom main in Marvel Rivals, so I primarily tend to go with Vanguards over the other two classes, so I’ll definitely be giving Emma Frost a go when she launches.
We’ll have to wait and see how her Team Up with Magneto and Psylocke plays out, but having a 2-tank team with Emma Frost and Magneto could be a good place to start in terms of working out a new meta.
Marvel Rivals Ultron release date
Now for Ultron, who won’t launch until Season 2.5. If we look at the release schedule for the previous season, I expect Ultron to arrive sometime in May.
We haven’t seen much from this upcoming character just yet, only a brief tease in the Season 2 reveal trailer. It’s clear that he’s set to be the villain of the season but in terms of how he’ll play? Well, that’s yet to be seen.
Marvel Rivals Season 2 Team Up Changes
Marvel Rivals Season 2 will bring in a bunch of new Team Ups, while removing existing ones. The first new one sees Emma Frost as the anchor Hero, with an ability called Mental Projection. This gives Magneto and Psylocke illusory projections, making it more difficult for the enemy to hit them.
Next up is Arcane Order, which sees Doctor Strange sharing his magic abilities with Scarlet Witch, enhancing her attacks. Then, Stars Aligned allows Winter Soldier to leap towards allies at critical moments.
Here are the key points on the changes coming to Team Ups in Marvel Rivals Season 2:
- Mental Projection: Emma Frost, Magneto, Scarlet Witch (NEW)
- Arcane Order: Doctor Strange, Scarlet Witch (NEW)
- Stars Aligned: Captain America, Winter Soldier (NEW)
- Gamma Charge: Hulk, Namor, Iron-Man (Doctor Strange removed, Namor added)
- Ammo Overload: Rocket, Punisher (Winter Soldier removed)
- Dimensional Shortcut: Magik, Black Panther (Psylocke removed)
- Chilling Charisma: Luna Snow, Jeff the Land Shark (Namor removed)
- Voltaic Union: Thor, Storm, Captain America (Removed entirely)
- Metallic Chaos: Magneto, Scarlet Witch (Removed entirely)
Marvel Rivals Season 2 balancing changes
In the Developer Vision video you can view above, some general balance updates are outlined for the future of Marvel Rivals. We’ve collected the key points in the list below:
- Hero balancing (buffs): Black Widow, Mister Fantastic, Scarlet Witch, Jeff the Land Shark, Peni Parker, Moon Knight, and Rocket Raccoon
- Hero Balancing (nerfs): Doctor Strange, Adam Warlock, Loki
- New Hero schedule: One per month from Season 3 onwards
- Maps: Map rotation will be in effect from Season 2 onwards (ranked), Hellfire: Gala (new map)
- Modes: New limited-time modes will be added over time
- Competitive: Map rotation, Bans added to Gold III, each player drops 9 divisions at the start of Season 2, minimum level requirement now 15, One Above All and Eternity ranks only allow duo queuing, Increasing the rate of individual performance vs match outcome.
Marvel Rivals next season FAQ
Who was the last Hero to be added to Marvel Rivals?
The Thing and Human Torch were added at the launch of Marvel Rivals Season 1.5, rounding out the Fantastic Four in-game. The Thing acts as a Vanguard, while The Human Torch is a Duelist. Both are great options for newcomers, with The Thing being the perfect starter tank to learn.
Who are the next characters coming to Marvel Rivals?
The next two characters coming to Marvel Rivals are Emma Frost and Ultron. Emma Frost has been fully revealed, and she’ll be a Vanguard with telekinetic and diamond-skin abilities. Ultron has been shown in trailers, but we’ve not seen gameplay yet.
What season is Marvel Rivals in?
Marvel Rivals is currently in Season 1.5. This started on February 21, and runs through until April 11. We’ll then be in Season 2.
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