- Danny Koo, the executive producer, commented that it's not the time to add original heroes in Marvel Rivals.
- The Marvel Rivals devs are occupied with bringing new Marvel comic heroes to the game at the moment.
- Moreover, the devs have also confirmed that there are no plans for crossover outside the Marvel universe.
Unlike the other hero shooters, Marvel Rivals isn’t running out of heroes any time soon, as they have hundreds of Marvel comic characters at their disposal. Last year, NetEase revealed that Marvel had given them the green light to add original hero characters in Marvel Rivals. Ever since this news surfaced online, the Marvel Rivals community has been waiting with bated breath for their first-ever original hero in the game. It’s been almost a year since Guangguang revealed the original hero’s plans, and now we have a disappointing update: Marvel Rivals won’t get an original character anytime soon.
Marvel Rivals Devs Say Now Isn’t the Right Time for Original Heroes
During the GDC 2026 event, Guangyun “GuangGuang” Chen, the creative director, and Danny Koo, the executive producer of Marvel Rivals, expressed their plans to IGN regarding the addition of original superheroes to the game. Without a second thought, Danny Koo remarked that it’s not the time to add original characters to the game, as they have so many other heroes available from the Marvel comics.
We have so many right now. It’s not the time.
If you have been tracking the leaked Marvel Rivals hero characters, then you would already know that Marvel Rivals has enough heroes planned. Each new hero will be added to the game every month as part of their strategy. Now this also ties in with what GuangGuang added, as he believes “It’s (ever-growing hero roster) not a very huge number, and we can handle it.”
The sheer number of heroes available isn’t a problem for Marvel Rivals devs, but they are concerned about the UI optimization, as they want every hero to be exciting and less similar to the others. “We want to work with the team to introduce different play mechanics. If someone is too similar, then it’s not that exciting. If we have five shooting guns like Punisher, then it’ll be less exciting than someone who does something completely different,” Danny Koo said.
Lastly, when asked whether there was a chance that Marvel Rivals could collaborate or have crossovers outside of the Marvel Universe, Danny Koo’s answer was a resounding no. “Non-Marvel? We have so many characters in Marvel, we’re not looking outside of Marvel. We do have collaborations with other Marvel games, let’s say. At this point, we have so much content.”
So, as you can see, the Marvel Rivals devs are so focused on adding new heroes from Marvel Comics at the moment. They don’t have the time to go for an original character yet, so let’s stay tuned if they change their minds in the future.
In the meantime, if you are looking to earn some free units, check out our predictions for the Marvel Rivals Ignite 2026 Preseason. That said, what do you think about Marvel Rivals’ plan not to add an original hero anytime soon? Let us know in the comments below.
