Marvel Rivals’ winter update adds new skins and a limited-time mode

By Patrick Hearn Published December 16, 2024

NetEase Games’ Marvel Rivals offers a superhero-laden alternative to Overwatch. If you’re tired of defending the objective from too-twitchy Tracers, try your hand at blocking Doctor Strange’s magic instead. Although the game released on December 5, there’s an update on the way that brings a lot of changes, including a 4v4 arcade mode.

The Winter Celebration, as the update is called, kicks off on December 20 with a limited-time game mode called Jeff’s Winter Splash Festival. This is a new 4v4 mode, but it won’t be around forever. There’s also a Gallery Card customization event called Gallery Card: 2024 Winter Celebration that allows players to win a wide range of rewards, including sprays, a new nameplate, and even a costume for Jeff the Land Shark.

You can see several of the new skins in a new trailer. Venom’s looks particularly interesting with its crystalline outcroppings and his sapphire-blue tongue, while Groot looks like Father Christmas multiclassed into a Druid. Rocket Raccoon gets a Santa hat and winter gloves, while Magik gets a snowboarding outfit.

Jeff’s costume, unsurprisingly, is the cutest of them all. The Land Shark gets a snowsuit with puffy ear covers, snow goggles, and a scarf that would be at home around the neck of any Hufflepuff.

The Marvel Rivals Invitational schedule has also been announced. The event will run from December 20 until December 22 and will be broadcast live on the game’s Twitch channel.

Marvel Rivals is free to play and available on Playstation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC. The game currently has a lineup of 33 different playable characters (with more on the way in future updates) and an Overwatch-like playstyle that feels both familiar and somehow fresh.