Marvel Rivals Releases Midseason Update Patch Notes and New Content Plan

April 17 is a big day for us Marvel Rivals as his mid-season update arrives, alongside Black Cat as the newest playable Duelist hero. Almost a month after Season 7 launched and added White Fox to the game's massive roster, a map of Lower Manhattan, and other features like an album system, NetEase is preparing another big game update. As the studio has already teased, Marvel Rivals fans will have more content to dive into as well as a massive patch that will change things further.

With the mid-season update set to arrive on April 17, NetEase has given fans a first look at Black Cat for Marvel Rivals. As the second character to join the roster in Season 7, Black Cat is a dualistic character that deals damage and uses her claws and agility to land on unsuspecting opponents. However, this version of Felicia Hardy also comes with a unique relic, where she can spend currency earned by defeating opponents to use an ability reminiscent of other characters, such as placing Dr. Strange. Her ultimate sees her throw her calling card at nearby enemies, charging at them and dealing lethal damage.

Marvel Rivals is about to “Move Beyond” Standard 6v6

Marvel Rivals plans to move beyond its standard 6v6 PvP and expand into new arenas for players to enjoy, explore and compete.

For Season 7.5, NetEase is also releasing a new update Marvel Rivalsadds new stories, content, events, as well as other improvements to the game. In fact, on Marvel Rivals On the Times Square Social Center map, players can now send duel invites to the Clobberin' Club directly through the player menu. In addition, new rules have also been added, including the ability to adjust the list of available heroes for a duel based on role type, as well as a mirroring option for Random mode. Private battles can also be started while waiting for matchmaking.

In addition to the patch, NetEase has also released a new roadmap Marvel Rivals to help fans better understand when certain content and events will arrive in Season 7.5. As expected, NetEase is releasing something new every week leading up to the launch of Season 8 on May 15, including another PvE mode for Marvel Rivals titled Blood Hunt which comes out next week on April 24th. Similar to the popular Zombies mode, players team up to fight four new bosses with a revamped progression and trait system.

There's also a new special event, now live called ESU Open Day, with a mix of free and premium rewards that can be unlocked for participating. Players simply need to complete the various missions in the game to progress through the reward, which includes a free Black & Gold costume for Mantis as well as premium outfits for Squirrel Girl and Psylocke.

April 24 will also see the return of the Hellfire Gala in 2026, with NetEase also releasing new Magik and Gambit outfits to celebrate the event. Elsa Bloodstone, Loki, Iron Man, Winter Soldier, and Venom are also receiving new costumes throughout May, so players will want to check the store for all the details.

Drag your weapons to fill the grid

Easy to medium hard

May 1 also sees Marvel Rivals kicks off its Path to Doomsday event by also adding a new PvP Avengers Mode to the game. Not much is known about this particular detail yet, but it represents a larger part of NetEase's plans to tie into the upcoming Avengers Doomsday MCU film. NetEase plans to add new modes and events every few months until October, with the studio releasing a major game content release in December to celebrate the film's release.

Marvel Rivals Update 20260417 patch notes

A new hero

Black Cat officially joins the Marvel Rivals roster! Get ready for the perfect heist!

New stories

– New Black Cat Lore – Good Fortune

– New Spider-Man Lore – Message received

New event: ESU Open Day

Welcome to the ESU Open House! Complete event missions to get a FREE Mantis – Black & Gold costume! Other rewards include Squirrel Girl – Maureen Allene: The Programmer, Psylocke – Chouko Takahashi: The Prodigy and more!

Event duration: April 17, 2026, 09:00:00 to June 12, 2026, 09:00:00 (UTC)

New in store

Spider-Man – Peter Parker: The Photographer Bundle Limited Time: April 17, 2026, 09:00:00 to May 15, 2026, 09:00:00 (UTC)
Blade – Starlit Shadow Bundle
Black Cat – Urban Predator Bundle
Black Cat – Golden Shadow
Psylocke – Chouko Takahashi: – The Prodigy Chroma: Sports tea and cobalt magic. – VFX Ability – Ultimate Ability – Customizable Components – Headwear, Protective Gear, Boots
Spider-Man – Friendly Perch Emote
Accessory for the black cat – Symbiote Spider-Man Plush. Available from: 17 April 2026 at 9:00:00 (UTC).
Season 2 Battle Pass: Flower Of Krakoa returns in Season 7.5 Available from: April 17, 2026. 09:00:00 to April 30, 2026, 09:00:00 (UTC)

Twitch Drops

With the start of Season 7.5, get ready for a new round of Twitch Drops. Follow your favorite streamers and get sweet rewards.

This round's drops include the Daredevil – Will of Galacta costume along with related pack content.

Downtime: April 17, 2026, 12:00:00 (UTC) to May 15, 2026, 09:00:00 (UTC)

As the Ignite Series Elimination Stage officially begins, the final showdown is upon us! We offer even more spectator benefits! Simply accumulate the desired viewing time to claim your rewards.

Drops include the Gambit – Will of Galacta costume and emote.

Downtime: April 19, 2026, 15:00:00 (UTC) to May 17, 2026, 15:00:00 (UTC)

Reward Rank

Reach Gold Rank and unlock the brand new Black Cat costume – Beguiling Blue!

Fixes and optimizations

Clobberin' Club

In the Times Square chat channel, you can now send duel invites directly through the player menu.
Added new rule for all duel modes: [Assign Selectable Roles]. You can now customize the list of available heroes by role type.
Added a new rule for Random mode: Mirror Type. Options include Full Mirror, Role Mirror and No Mirror.
You can now start private battles while matchmaking. Duel will automatically break when a match is found.
Added Clobberin' Club entrance queue information screen.

All platforms

Esports Optimization: Player page now supports crosshair visual display! You can view the visual effects of a professional gamer's favorite reticle right on his home page and copy it for your own use.

Other

Mantis Makeover: Fixed an issue where the eyebrows on the Mantis – Oceanic Harmony costume were displaying incorrectly. Even an empath needs her eyebrows on point!
Chat Decoded: Fixed an issue where messages containing special characters might not display correctly in chat. We have successfully converted the runes back to readable text!

Released: December 6, 2024
ESRB: T For Teen // Violence
Developers: NetEase Games
Publishers: NetEase Games