Marvel Rivals‘ next season will go live on Nov. 14, and will add X-Men Gambit and Rogue to the game, as previously teased by NetEase. Gambit, a Strategist, will make his Marvel Rivals debut at the launch of season 5, with his untouchable love interest joining the game mid-season.
Gambit blends “kinetic energy control with his iconic playing cards, agile movement, and expert combat skills to create a unique playstyle,” NetEase said in an announcement. The new Strategist-class hero can use Chronovium-enhanced playing cards to “unlock kinetic shifting to heal allies, cleanse negative effects, or deal damage: knocking back enemies and applying anti-heal.” Gambit can also channel energy into his staff to take down his foes at close range. His ultimate ability throws kinetic-charged cards at all nearby allies, supercharging their jump abilities and adding explosive power to their attacks.
Season 5 of Marvel Rivals is titled “Love is a Battlefield,” and developer NetEase is playing up romances in a new trailer for the upcoming season. That includes pairings of fan-favorite ships, including Loki and Mantis (aka “Lotus”), Storm and Black Panther, and Scarlet Witch… and Venom? One might infer that those Marvel Rivals heroes hooking up would mean new Team-Up abilities, but the only new Team-Up pairings confirmed for the new season are Gambit and Magneto (Explosive Entanglement), Cloak and Dagger and Hawkeye (Sword of Duality), and Blade and Moon Knight (Blade of Khonshu).
More details on Team-Ups and balance changes are revealed in a new developer video released Tuesday.
Adding to the love this season will be a New York Times Square map, which will support up to 100 players in a non-combat environment. The Times Square map will serve as a dedicated space for socializing, relaxing, and sharing cool moments — or for just endlessly twerking as Venom, perhaps in his upcoming dessert-themed skin to show off those frosted cakes.
Marvel Rivals will also get a new mode in season 5, an 18v18 Conquest mode called Annihilation that promises “epic chaos.” Annihilation will go live Nov. 27. That same day, Marvel Rivals players will be able to earn 2,500 Units and a free Legendary Jeff the Land Shark costume, as part of the game’s first anniversary celebration.
No word yet on when exactly Rogue will be added to Marvel Rivals, nor which role she’ll play. Based on her and Gambit’s new reveal trailer, though, we may already have a glimpse of one of the game’s next heroes. X-Men leader Cyclops pops up a few times in that trailer, a possible hint at his arrival in season 6 of Marvel Rivals.
