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Marvel Rivals' biggest update yet arrives in Season 9

The team-up system has been overhauled, and balance changes are coming to around 80% of the roster.
Alex Hopley Editor UK 8 July 2026

Marvel Rivals Season 9: The Mystery of Thebes introduces Apocalypse, one of Marvel's most-powerful villains. It stands to reason, then, that the arrival of such a character will also herald the coming of the biggest update yet to NetEase's hero shooter.

Team-ups are being completely overhauled, with every single hero now having 2 team-up abilities, with one being equipped at any one time. Moreover, around 80% of the roster will be getting balance changes, and Black Widow is having her combat completely redesigned. High-mobility characters will have a regenerative shield, meaning it's less risky for them to try hit-and-run tactics, and as usual, there are some new heroes to play and a new map to try, too.

Apocalypse isn't labelled in the upcoming playable characters. Instead, we've got Jubilee arriving as a new Strategist when Season 9 launches on the 10th of July, and The Hood will arrive later on in the season. Check out the Season 9 trailer and Jubilee's gameplay below:

Editor UK Alex Hopley covered the video game industry for Gamereactor, from new announcements and launches to the business behind them. He also wrote on tech, film and entertainment, and his coverage wasn't tied to any one region.
Full profile Gamereactor author since 2023 · 9,411 published articles
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