If you've been anywhere near a gaming PC or console lately, you've probably heard the chaotic clashing of Iron Man’s repulsors and Magneto’s metal shards. It's loud. It's fast. Marvel Rivals basically exploded onto the scene, making people wonder if the hero shooter genre actually had some life left in it after all. But when you look at the splash screen, the names aren't necessarily the ones you’d expect. It isn't Blizzard. It isn't Riot. So, who made Marvel Rivals?
The answer is a mix of a massive Chinese tech giant and a specialized internal team full of industry veterans who clearly spent way too much time playing Overwatch and reading Secret Wars comics.
NetEase Games: The Powerhouse Behind the Scenes
The primary developer and publisher of Marvel Rivals is NetEase Games. If you aren't a big mobile gamer, you might only know NetEase as "that other huge Chinese company" besides Tencent. But they’re massive. NetEase has been around the block, and they’ve been handling Marvel properties for a while now. They are the same folks who brought us Marvel Super War and Marvel Duel.
But Rivals is a different beast entirely.
To build this, NetEase didn't just throw a random team at it. They put together a global crew, including a dedicated core team based in Guangzhou and Los Angeles. The leadership includes people who worked on Call of Duty, Battlefield, and Halo. You can kind of feel that pedigree when you're flying around as Storm; the movement doesn't feel floaty or cheap. It feels like a high-budget AAA shooter because, well, that’s exactly what the budget dictated.
Why NetEase and not someone else?
Marvel (and by extension, Disney) is picky. They don't just hand out the keys to the kingdom to anyone. NetEase earned this spot through a multi-year partnership. Honestly, it’s a smart business move. While Western developers like Firewalk Studios were struggling with Concord, NetEase leaned into the "fandom" aspect. They knew that people don't just want a balanced shooter; they want to see Rocket Raccoon jump on Groot's back.
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That specific mechanic—the Team-Up Skills—is the secret sauce. It’s what happens when you have a dev team that actually understands the source material. It wasn't just a corporate mandate. The developers have gone on record saying they wanted the environment to be "destructible" because, in a comic book fight, buildings don't just stay standing when Hulk punches them.
The Creative Vision of Thaddeus Sasser
You can't talk about who made Marvel Rivals without mentioning the game's director, Thaddeus Sasser. The name might ring a bell if you’re a fan of tactical shooters. He was the lead designer on Battlefield Hardline.
Think about that for a second.
You take a guy known for large-scale, destructive, objective-based shooters and give him the Marvel roster. That explains why the maps in Marvel Rivals feel so much more interactive than the static hallways of Overwatch 2. Sasser’s influence is all over the "destruction" physics. When you're playing in Yggsgard or Tokyo 2099, the fact that you can level a bridge or smash a wall to change a sightline comes directly from that Battlefield DNA. It’s a huge shift for the genre.
The team also includes veterans from the Destiny franchise. This explains the "super" abilities. Each ultimate feels like a world-ending event. When Scarlet Witch starts her chaos magic blast, the whole screen changes color. That’s visual storytelling through gameplay mechanics.
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The Art Style: Why it Looks "Different"
One of the biggest questions people had during the Alpha was about the art direction. It’s not "photorealistic" like the Marvel's Avengers game (which, let's be honest, kind of landed with a thud). It has this stylized, cel-shaded, almost "anime-adjacent" look.
The art team was led by professionals who wanted to bridge the gap between classic comic book aesthetics and modern high-fidelity graphics. By going with this stylized look, NetEase ensured the game could run on a wider variety of hardware while also making the colors pop. It feels like a moving comic book. They avoided the "uncanny valley" faces that plagued other Marvel titles. Instead, we got a Peter Parker who looks like he belongs in a high-energy action show.
Addressing the NetEase Reputation
Let's be real for a minute. NetEase has a reputation for aggressive monetization in their mobile games. When people first heard who made Marvel Rivals, there was a collective groan of "Oh no, is this going to be pay-to-win?"
However, the development team has been surprisingly vocal about avoiding those pitfalls. They launched with the promise that all heroes will be free. Forever. That’s a massive departure from the NetEase "standard" and shows that Marvel/Disney likely had some guardrails in place. They’re looking for Valorant levels of longevity, not a quick mobile cash-grab.
The Role of Marvel Games
While NetEase did the heavy lifting on the code and assets, Marvel Games (the internal division of Marvel Entertainment) acted as the lore police and creative consultants. Jay Ong, the head of Marvel Games, has been very involved in ensuring the characters feel "authentic."
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This matters because of the deep cuts in the roster. Including characters like Luna Snow (a K-pop star with ice powers) or Jeff the Land Shark shows that the developers weren't just looking at the MCU movies. They were looking at the entire 80-year history of the comics. The collaboration between the NetEase designers and the Marvel creative leads resulted in a game that feels like it was made by fans, for fans.
What This Means for You
Understanding the pedigree behind the game helps explain why it plays the way it does. It’s a mix of Eastern live-service expertise and Western shooter design.
If you’re looking to get the most out of Marvel Rivals now that you know the "who" and the "why," here is how you should approach it:
- Focus on Environmental Play: Because the Battlefield vets built these maps, don't just stand in the open. Use the destruction to your advantage. If a sniper is bothering you, don't just hide—destroy the floor beneath them.
- Prioritize Team-Ups: The game was designed around "synergy" mechanics. If someone picks Venom, consider picking Peni Parker or Spider-Man. The devs baked "hidden" stats into these pairings that can turn a losing match around.
- Watch the Patch Notes: NetEase is known for fast iterations. Unlike some Western devs that take six months to balance a character, this team tends to move quickly. Stay flexible with your "main" character.
- Master the Verticality: Unlike many other shooters, almost every character in Rivals has some form of vertical movement. This was a specific design choice by Sasser’s team to make the game feel "3D" and chaotic.
The game is a massive gamble for NetEase, marking their biggest push into the competitive PC and console market. By combining the technical muscle of their Guangzhou studios with the design expertise of US-based industry legends, they've created something that feels remarkably distinct in a crowded market. It isn't just a clone; it's an evolution of the genre led by people who have spent decades defining what "fun" feels like in a shooter.
To stay ahead of the meta, keep an eye on the official Marvel Rivals Discord and the developer blogs on their website. They frequently post "Dev Diaries" that explain the logic behind hero changes, which is a great way to see how the team’s philosophy is evolving as the player base grows.