Marvel Rivals Shatters Player Count Record with Season 1 Launch

The free-to-play team-based shooter, Marvel Rivals, has achieved a new peak concurrent player count following the release of Season 1: Eternal Night Falls. The game soared to an impressive 644,269 concurrent players on January 11th, significantly surpassing its previous record of 480,990 set during its launch week.

Season 1: Eternal Night Falls – A Night of New Content

Launched on January 10th, Season 1 introduced a wealth of new content, driving the surge in players. This included:

• New playable characters
• A brand-new map
• Game performance improvements and optimizations
• A revamped ranked system
• A fresh Battle Pass

The influx of exciting new features clearly resonated with players, leading to the record-breaking concurrent player numbers. The season's narrative revolves around Dracula and Doctor Doom plunging the city into eternal night, countered by the arrival of the Fantastic Four as new allies.

For detailed patch notes, including character skill adjustments, visit the official Marvel Rivals website or the Steam community hub.

Goodbye Mods, Hello Anti-Cheat

While Season 1 brought much-celebrated additions, it also resulted in the removal of community-created mods. The update implemented asset hash checking, a security measure designed to detect and prevent unauthorized modifications, including cheats and hacks. This understandably impacts players who used custom skins and other modifications.

Community reaction is mixed. Some mourn the loss of custom content, such as Luna Snow's Hatsune Miku skin, while others support the move to maintain fair play and protect the game's economy, which relies heavily on cosmetic purchases.