"Marvel Rivals Unveils February Launch for The Thing, Human Torch"

Get ready, Marvel fans! Marvel Rivals is set to expand The Fantastic Four team with the addition of The Thing and Human Torch, launching as playable characters on February 21, 2025. This exciting news came alongside the announcement of an update for the second half of Season 1, though details about the Season 1.5 update remain under wraps. However, a Dev Talk blog post on the Marvel Rivals website hinted at "major balance adjustments" on the horizon.

While we're still waiting to see how The Thing and Human Torch will dazzle us with their unique abilities, the introduction of Mister Fantastic and the Invisible Woman at the start of Season 1 already shook up the game's meta. Reed Richards brought his stretchy and goofy attacks to the battlefield, while Sue Storm added invisibility mechanics to the mix. With Ben Grimm and Johnny Storm joining soon, fans are eager to see how these heroes will further transform the gameplay, and hopefully, NetEase will share some gameplay footage before their release.

The upcoming Marvel Rivals Season 1 update will also feature a rank reset for Ranked players. As of February 21, players will see their Rank drop by four divisions. For example, a Diamond I player on February 20 will drop to Platinum II the next day. NetEase has outlined that future updates will follow suit, with new seasons causing a six-division drop and half-season updates resulting in a four-division drop. As the game evolves, NetEase plans to adjust these changes based on player feedback.

It's not all about the reset, though. Competitive players in the Gold rank can look forward to new costume rewards when the second half of Season 1 launches. Additionally, NetEase is introducing new Crests of Honor to celebrate top players at the Grandmaster, Celestial, Eternity, and One Above All ranks (the top 500).

The anticipation among superhero enthusiasts for more post-launch content from Marvel Rivals has been palpable, and The Fantastic Four is just the beginning. Last month, creative director Guangyun Chen sparked excitement by promising to release a new playable character every half-season. This means a new Marvel hero will join the fray approximately every six weeks, keeping the community engaged as the game evolves. There's strong evidence suggesting that the vampire-hunting Daywalker Blade could be next in line, although rumors and leaks have stirred debates among players over the past few weeks, keeping Marvel Rivals' future shrouded in mystery.

In the meantime, you can check out our current Marvel Rivals Season 1 tier list to discover the best characters as you await the mid-season update to shake things up. Dive into how the original Season 1 patch flipped the meta and explore the community's reactions to Marvel Rivals' alleged bot issue.