In Defense of Marvel Rivals’ Handling of Blade

Marvel Rivals is no stranger to leaks. Mere days after the game released last December, a lengthy list of datamined characters hit the internet, all of whom were allegedly coming to the hero shooter at some point in its future. One of the names on that very first list of leaked heroes was Marvel’s Daywalker, Blade. But seven months later, Blade still isn’t in Marvel Rivals. At least not as a playable character.

Blade has technically been a part of Marvel Rivals‘ universe for a few months now, with the half-human, half-vampire appearing as an NPC on various maps. But if recent rumors are to be believed, then Blade might finally be joining the roster in Marvel Rivals Season 3, which is set to start on July 11. There’s been some criticism over Marvel Rivals‘ handling of Blade, but his gradual introduction is exactly the type of thing that successful live-service games need.

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Marvel Rivals’ Handling of Blade Is a Boon for its Live-Service Structure

Marvel Rivals Has Continued to Subvert Expectations With its Choice of Heroes

Live-service games live and die by the player-base’s excitement. No matter how inherently great a live-service game’s mechanics and core loop are, they won’t keep players’ interest forever. There will always be a shiny new thing to draw their attention away. To be successful in the live-service genre, games need to offer that shiny new thing themselves.

Marvel Rivals has been doing a great job of that so far by offering at least two new playable heroes every season. The distinct moveset and role of each hero has kept fans invested in Marvel Rivals‘ seasonal approach for the last six months or so. But it’s not just the heroes themselves that have kept fans on board; it’s also been the speculation that surrounds each one’s reveal.

Though a ton of characters have already been rumored to appear in Marvel Rivals, it’s not known what order they’ll appear in, or if they’ll all make it to the roster. Developer NetEase has also done a good job of subverting expectations regarding which heroes could appear next, as a hero like Ultron had his entire kit leaked back in December, but he’s only just appeared in the game. As such, there’s a lot of speculation and excitement leading up to a new Marvel Rivals hero reveal.

At the time of writing, just weeks before the release of Marvel Rivals Season 3, Blade is at the center of that fervent speculation.

Marvel Rivals Has Done a Great Job of Building Hype for Blade

The journey to (possibly) get to a playable Blade in Marvel Rivals has been a long one. Blade made his first in-game appearance at the start of Marvel Rivals Season 1, appearing in an unlockable Gallery Card that depicted the hero being restrained by the season’s main antagonist, Dracula. Blade then made an in-person appearance when the Central Park map debuted a few weeks later, where he was shown to have been captured and chained up by Dracula’s vampiric forces.

At the end of Marvel Rivals‘ Eternal Night Falls season, Blade had broken free from his chains in Central Park, and had relocated to the Intergalactic Empire of Wakanda map, where he was shown resting from his ordeal with Dracula. Just a few weeks ago, Blade left his sleeping spot, and his whereabouts are currently unknown. Fan excitement and speculation has grown with each and every step in this journey, and that’s exactly the type of hook that live-service games need to keep in place.

Marvel Rivals‘ Blade has just had his ability set leaked. If the rumors are to be believed, then Blade will be a Duelist who uses a sword, long-range shotgun, and self-heal abilities.

While this slow build might have irritated some fans who wanted to play as the Daywalker as soon as possible, it’s generally been a positive thing for Marvel Rivals‘ longevity, as it’s continued to keep fans excited about a potential upcoming roster addition while offering something immediately rewarding via story content.

That does mean that there’s now a lot of pressure for Marvel Rivals to really knock it out of the park with its playable depiction of Blade, but if NetEase can pull it off, Blade’s lengthy introduction can be capped off in the most satisfying way.