Stories from making Marvel Rivals
NetEase Games’ team-based shooter Marvel Rivals was the subject of discussion at the 2026 GDC Festival of Gaming, where development insights were shared by NetEase Games Publishing and Marketing Lead Yachen Bian and Marvel Games Executive Producer Danny Koo. The session examined the complexities involved in creating a massively popular online live service game, covering ground that would typically require extensive conference coverage, multiple lectures, and postmortems to fully address.
One key design principle highlighted in the discussion was “time to action,” which exemplifies the importance of getting players into engaging gameplay quickly within live service titles. The panel provided valuable takeaways about the development of the successful multiplayer shooter, which combines Marvel’s intellectual property with team-based competitive gameplay. Such discussions demonstrate the intricate work required to maintain and develop engaging online gaming experiences at scale.