Marvel Rivals Season 2 adds multiple Hellfire Gala-themed skins and two new playable characters.
NetEase Games has officially announced Marvel Rivals Season 2: Hellfire Gala. Themed after the annual Marvel Comics event that saw mutants open up the island of Krakoa to outsiders for a fancy dinner party (which almost always ended in disaster), this season will introduce two new playable characters to the game: Emma Frost and Ultron.
Additionally, Season 2 will bring multiple Hellfire Gala-themed outfits for the playable roster, on top of new competitive changes.
Watch the trailer below:
Marvel Rivals unveils Season 2 playable characters: Emma Frost and Ultron
Marvel Rivals Season 2 is a big one, following up on the game’s debut with a Hellfire Gala-themed season. Here’s the developer’s description for Season 2:
It’s the most glamorous night of the year, darling - Emma Frost herself invites you to the Hellfire Gala on Krakoa! Once a year, this sovereign Mutant island opens its gates, welcoming both friend and rival alike to shape a brighter future. Now stranded in the year 2099 by a raging temporal storm, the fate of Krakoa hangs in the balance, its ecosystem suffering from dangerous chronal energy. Can a night of glittering festivities bring unity over fine dining and dazzling conversation? Who among the attendees possesses ulterior motives or solely seeks to party? And who is the uninvited guest? Dress your best, step through the gates, and join us for an unforgettable evening of elegance, intrigue, and power.
Judging by the trailer above, that “uninvited guest” is the robotic villain Ultron. Ultron will be one of Season 2’s two new playable characters, along with the telepathic mutant Emma Frost. Frost appears to retain her comicbook powers in-game, judging by a recently-released character reveal trailer: the Vanguard hero can turn into diamond at will, and use telepathic abilities to influence her enemies on the battlefield.
You can watch her character reveal trailer below:
More content in Marvel Rivals Season 2
Marvel Rivals Season 2 will also add a bunch of new character skins to dress up your favourite heroes and villains for the Hellfire Gala. A few of these skins were seen in the trailer above, ranging from classic X-Men suits for heroes like Magik and Psylocke, to more dressed-up gala outfits for Luna Snow, Black Widow, and more.
This season will also include a few gameplay changes, such as the addition of new character team-ups and the removal of a few old ones. You can read all about these changes and additions here. In a dev video, NetEase also confirmed that the game will now get one new hero every month, which means that fans can now look forward to the roster expanding by 12 every year.
It wouldn’t be right for the Hellfire Gala to roll out without the island it’s hosted on, so Marvel Rivals is also adding a Krakoa-set domination map in Season 2. On the competitive side of things, Season 2 will see everyone drop by a whopping nine divisions (three ranks), meaning that everyone will have to begin the competitive climb once again. To that end, players can at least look forward to the game now weighing their individual performance in a match more heavily when climbing ranks.
Despite a Season 1 tease, Blade unfortunately remains nowhere to be seen. Marvel Rivals Season 2 launches on 11 April, 2025.
