‘Marvel Rivals’ launches zombies mode

The team-based hero shooter Marvel Rivals has launched its first player-vs-environment (PvE) mode, Marvel Zombies. The co-operative mode, where players battle AI-controlled enemies, is inspired by the Disney+ miniseries of the same name.

The mode was teased in the season 4.5 roadmap as a mystery addition and was revealed last week as part of a Halloween event. In it, players can face hordes of the undead, including terrifying zombie versions of Namor and Scarlet Witch.

Danny Koo, Marvel Games executive producer, revealed in the Marvel Zombies announcement trailer that the mode was designed in collaboration with Marvel Animation. He was joined by Brad Winderbaum, Marvel Studios head of streaming, television, and animation.

What is Marvel Zombies in Marvel Rivals?

The four-player mode challenges teams to survive escalating waves of enemies using a lineup of heroes that includes Thor, Blade, Magik, Jeff, and The Punisher. Each character features an event-specific twist.

“We’ve also given each hero some unique abilities,” said Koo. “[Players can] charge through the hordes as Jeff, slice and dice with Blade’s bouncing Moon Blades, shock zombies with Thor in his persistent Awakened state, or go berserk as Magik in her unlimited Darkchild form.”

The objective is to defeat the swarms of enemies, and challenging final zombie bosses (Namor and Scarlet Witch).

The state of Marvel Rivals

Marvel Rivals has experienced huge player engagement since it was released by NetEase in December 2024, peaking at almost 650,000 players on Steam, according to SteamDB. However, the hype has dropped significantly, with the same current player base sitting at around 85% of that peak, and dropping below 100,000.

The ten-month-old game’s addition of Zombies marks a significant step forward and signals potential future expansion into more PvE content.

Blizzard’s Overwatch 2, a direct competitor to Rivals, faced extensive delays in delivering promised PvE content. Although new story missions were eventually released, the original PvE roadmap was significantly altered, leaving many players disappointed and sceptical about the nearly 10-year-old franchise’s PvE direction.

Where to play Marvel Rivals?

Marvel Rivals is a free-to-play game, available on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Steam and the Epic Games Store.

* Visit the ‘Marvel Rivals’ website here.

* Jason Bannier is a data analyst at World Wide Worx and deputy editor of Gadget.co.za. Follow him on Bluesky at @jas2bann.