Marvel Rivals is shedding its PvP-only identity this October with a PvE mode in which you and your friends are gonna have to use super powers to mop up a zombie-infested city. The event kicks off later this month as a collaboration with Marvel Animation following the four-episode Marvel Zombies miniseries on Disney+.
Developer NetEase shared the news of its upcoming PvE zombies mode this morning over on X with a post showing off some fun animation and a slice of the gameplay, as well as a few details of how it’ll work. Though you won’t have access to the full roster of heroes available in PvP, you can choose among Thor, Blade, Magik, Jeff the Shark, and the Punisher to sweep through zombie hordes and take on Zombie Namoor and the Queen of the Dead, who serve as bosses. It all launches on October 23, 2025, just in time for Halloween.
The first-ever PvE mode: Marvel Zombies is coming on Oct 23, 2025 UTC.
This new mode throws you and your squad into a relentless fight for survival against endless waves of the undead.
The city's burning, the infected are rising – and it's up to you to hold the line.
Get a… pic.twitter.com/DodsnAzoRB— Marvel Rivals (@MarvelRivals) October 17, 2025
These heroes will work a little differently from how they do in the base game, too. Thor, for example, is described in the teaser as having a “persistent awakened state” and Magik has access to an “unlimited Darkchild form.”
Marvel Rivals could use a Hail Mary
The news follows a pretty significant dip in popularity for the superhero-themed hero shooter. As reported by Forbes’ Paul Tassi, the once white-hot shooter has cooled, losing 85 percent of the player base it enjoyed earlier in the year. As Tassi notes, the player count is still quite healthy, with concurrents peaking at 98,000 in recent days. But clearly Marvel Studios could use a bit of a shot in the arm if it wants to reclaim its previous numbers, which saw things top out at 644,000 concurrents.
Zombies and horde PvE modes are nothing we haven’t seen before in shooters. The upcoming Black Ops 7 this November, for example, continues CoD’s long-running zombies mode alongside its standard multiplayer offerings. That said, Rivals’ PvE gameplay does look pretty fresh in motion. We’ll see if it’s enough to put some spring in Rivals’ step.
