Marvel Rivals, the upcoming team-based PVP shooter from NetEase Games, developed in collaboration with Marvel Games, is gearing up to be the next big thing in the world of free-to-play gaming.
While the game does not yet have a scheduled release date, it will begin its closed alpha test in the coming few days. As it turns out, participating players have a few test-exclusive rewards awaiting them in the game, which will also carry over to the release version of the game.
Marvel Rivals’ Close Alpha Test Will Feature a Unique Skin of Scarlet Witch
As it turns out, the launcher for Marvel Rivals has revealed one of the five in-game events that will take place throughout the closed alpha test. The event, titled Galacta’s quest will see players complete various daily and weekly missions to earn various rewards.
As players progress and rack up enough XP to reach level 30, they will then be rewarded with a unique character skin for Scarlet Witch, titled the Moonlit Witch, as Miller Ross revealed on X:
The skin in question bears a striking resemblance to Wanda Zatara, the White Witch, who was a prominent character in the series Doctor Strangefate. It’s clear that Marvel is looking to enamour its future player base from the get-go with this strategy.
However, reactions to the reveal have been somewhat mixed, with many criticizing the rewards’ exclusivity to the closed alpha test and a few going as far as to criticize Marvel for collaborating with NetEase, a not-so-reputed developer, on this project.
Given the nature of such games, it is most likely that the events will receive a second run in the future. But whether or not non-test players will be able to grab the Moonlit Witch skin specifically is up for debate. What isn’t up for debate, though, is that Marvel is pulling no stops in promoting this game.
Marvel Is Doing a Staggering Amount of Hype-Building for Rivals
From a maximally fleshed-out closed alpha test that will feature 5 in-game events and a lot of content for players to explore to hosting a competitive tournament, called Dawn of Legends, with multiple prizes for players to participate in, Marvel is doing its utmost to ensure Marvel Rivals‘ success.
This makes sense, given its track record with Marvel’s Avengers and Midnight Suns and how much of a disaster those turned out to be. The former just had a broken launch that it could never recover from, and the latter simply failed to turn a profit for the company.
But, upon looking at things critically, it’s clear that Marvel has a real knack for bringing its characters to life through video games, which is also what ultimately matters when it comes to such games. A shame that its competitors don’t seem to have that particular skill anymore.
If Marvel can overcome its past failures and jump across any hurdle that may come its way with Marvel Rivals, they’ll have a clear win in their hands. Whether or not that happens, we can leave that in the hands of fate, or when the closed alpha finally begins on May 10th, 2024, at 5:00 PM (PDT).
That being said, what do you think of Marvel Rivals‘ current strategy? Would you like to see these events repeated in the future? Let us know in the comments below!
