Marvel Rivals continues to fascinate its player base with an array of renowned Marvel characters and a regular stream of eye-catching skins. Since its inception, the game has used a free-to-play strategy to keep players involved with cosmetic incentives, combining comic-book flare with competitive action. Skins, which allow players to personalize their heroes, have become a popular aspect of the game, from Spider-Man’s sleek costumes to Scarlet Witch’s mystical ensembles. What distinguishes Marvel Rivals is its generosity as it occasionally offers free skins through events, milestones, and ranked play, ensuring that everyone has access to distinctive looks without spending a dime.
The Midnight Features event has previously given away festive items such as Jeff the Land Shark’s Cuddly Fuzzlefin winter skin and Thor’s Reborn from Ragnarok attire. Players can also complete Heroic Journey challenges for permanent unlock, such as Storm’s Ivory Breeze, or obtain platform-specific items, such as Peni Parker’s VEN#M for PlayStation players.
Now NetEase is ramping up the heat with the Season 1 mid-season update, which arrives on February 21, 2025. Along with new heroes Human Torch and The Thing, there is a free Blood Blaze Human Torch skin that players can get in the game. Here’s how to claim it.
The Blood Blaze Human Torch costume will become available to players who reach the Gold level in Marvel Rivals Competitive mode after playing at least 10 matches in the Season 1.5 update. Players will simply need to grind their way through the starting ranks and reach Gold to unlock the skin for free.
The costume looks similar to the Blood Shield Invisible Woman skin which will also be granted to Gold players for free until Season 1 ends. The skin features a black and red accent with a white 4 symbol on the chest like other Fantastic Four members in the game. As you climb the ranks you’ll also unlock some exclusive nameplates that you can use to flaunt your status in the game.
Human Torch is also getting another skin called Negative Zone Gladiator that will be released in the game Store for 1,600 Units that players can purchase. The skin is inspired by the Fantastic Four (1998) #600 comic book that will make its way when the Marvel Rivals Season 1.5 update goes live on February 21.
Acer’s Predator Atlas 8 finally has a US release date and price, several months after the company first showed off the handheld in May. The highlight is the Intel Arc G3 Extreme chip inside, which has been adopted by only a couple of other consoles besides the Atlas 8. This version will go on sale exclusively at Best Buy on November 1 for $1,299.99.
Acer originally said the Atlas 8 would arrive in North America in October, but left pricing open at the time. The launch came amid the ongoing DRAM crunch, which has made memory more expensive across the PC industry and complicated pricing for hardware makers.
Gaming laptops and I have a complicated relationship. One of my first gaming rigs was an Acer Predator that was already outdated when I bought it. I was a broke college kid, and that was the best I could afford. So trying out high-end gaming laptops is always fun. But ASUS' ROG Zephyrus G14 is a lot more than a laptop that can run AAA games. It is portable, so you're not lugging around a 2.5kg machine everywhere you go. It is built well, none of that plastic chassis, and can even function as a normal laptop outside of just gaming.
Google Play is borrowing one of the Nintendo Switch’s most useful little tricks. A new Sidekick tool called Playbacks captures a short clip after something interesting has already happened, sparing players from running a screen recorder throughout an entire game.
Playbacks is part of Google Play Store v53.8 and keeps saved clips on the phone. Google first announced it earlier this month, but the new Play Store update marks its arrival for players. Anyone who has watched a perfect win vanish because the record button came too late already understands the appeal.