Marvel Rivals devs backpedal on ranked rewards stance, again proving feedback works for this game

For all of any developer’s faults, it’s always good to see when the teams working on games listen to and apply feedback swiftly. Recently, Marvel Rivals maker NetEase Games has done very well at this.

This past Monday, NetEase announced changes coming to the game’s Competitive mode, where a midseason rank reset was set to drop with the game’s update next week. The dev quickly walked back the move after near-universal negative feedback. Now, NetEase has turned around another change that was announced earlier this week, which was putting a time limit on the ability to earn the first ranked-exclusive skin, the Blood Shield costume for Invisible Woman.

“After the recent Dev Talk on rank adjustments, we have been closely monitoring the community’s feedback,” NetEase said today. “As the first half of season one draws to a close, we recognize that some players are concerned about not having enough time to reach Gold rank and earn the Invisible Woman costume, Blood Shield reward.”

Each season, Marvel Rivals rewards an exclusive skin for reaching Gold rank, like season one’s Moon Knight costume Golden Moonlight. But only just this week did NetEase say that the clock for the Blood Shield costume was running out on Feb. 21 with the midseason update. Players voiced their opinions loudly, and NetEase listened again.

Now, both the Invisible Woman Blood Shield skin and the new upcoming Blood Blaze skin for Human Torch will be rewarded at season’s end, effectively eliminating the time limit on the first skin.

Players will need to reach at least Gold rank in Competitive and play at least 10 Competitive matches in the second half of the season to earn both skins, but the FOMO is now gone for those who are unable to reach Gold before next week’s update.

“We hope these changes give you greater flexibility,” NetEase said. “Whether you are balancing Marvel Rivals with your daily life or aiming for the stars in Competitive mode, we want you to be able to achieve your rank goals, claim your rewards, and enjoy the game to the fullest.”

With quick-acting resolutions to feedback such as this, Rivals will only continue to grow and NetEase should garner continuous support from players who are pleased with their voices being heard.

Season one’s midway point is next week on Feb. 21, at which point the game will add two new heroes, Human Torch and The Thing, and a new map named Central Park, among other new content like new challenges and events.