This is an unusual kind of leak, one given by NetEase itself, which has previewed what appear to be the next pair of Marvel Rivals heroes, Gambit and Rogue.
Sharp-eyed fan and ex-leaker Miller noticed that very, very faintly in the background of the last batch of Marvel Rivals patch notes, Gambit and Rogue could be seen, glimpsing their stylized look for their Rivals debut. Then, @badguyjohn managed to enhance the image to an almost unbelievable degree to get a much better look at the pair of them, as seen above.
Marvel Rivals sometimes tries to pair linked heroes together for its seasons, albeit that doesn’t always happen. Here, the two are clearly a bundle with the two X-Men eternally romantically involved in the comics.
The theory here is that Gambit will be a Duelist, as I’m not sure what else he could even be, and Rogue will be a Vanguard, sapping the strength of enemies. It does not seem likely her draining powers would be much use as a healer. But none of this is confirmed yet, nor are their movesets.
It is likely that these heroes will be revealed very soon. With my luck, right as this article goes up. Season 5 begins on Friday, November 14, so were just over a week away and it’s time to start hyping fans up with the new releases. This will continue the short season plans of NetEase, releasing one new Rivals hero a month, a blistering pace in the live-service multiplayer market.
While Marvel Rivals was obviously never going to maintain its initial skyhigh playercount of 644,000 concurrents on Steam, the game has fallen precipitously in less than a year since release. Seasons offer brief bumps but they don’t last, and there has been no significant spike that has turned around declines for more than a short while. Recently, the game has begun peaking under 80,000 concurrents, but with the caveat that A) that is still great for a new MP game in general and B) it’s the end of a season. However, if the trends continue at this pace, this will probably not be all that healthy heading into year two, as Rivals hasn’t shown signs of stabilizing at a true baseline yet.
I imagine that Gambit and Rogue will be a popular pair. Rumor has it that Rogue’s first skin will be her famed, revealing “Savage Land” outfit which is destined to be a best-seller. We will likely see official looks soon, but for now you can check our first glimpse out above.
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