Marvel Rivals microtransactions & free-to-play explained

Marvel Rivals is the latest hero shooter to arrive from NetEase, and with it taking on a free-to-play model, fans might be questioning how it’s going to make money - like most free-to-play titles, the answer lies in its microtransactions.

Oddly, Rivals is bucking the trend of asking its players to purchase a seasonal Battle Pass. While it will still include seasonal content, players won’t need to pay for it. Instead, NetEase seemingly expects that the microtransaction route will be more lucrative.

Here’s what you need to know about the free-to-play model of Marvel Rivals, and how invasive its microtransactions appear to be.

What’s included in Marvel Rivals for free?

First things first, Marvel Rivals is completely free to play if you just want to pick up and play. You’ll be able to create an account and choose from any of the currently available 23 heroes on the roster.

This is how things work in the Closed Beta Test that’s currently running from July 23 to August 4. Once the game launches properly, it may be that players need to play a few matches to unlock certain heroes, similar to how Overwatch 2 operates now it’s also gone free to play.

What microtransactions are available in Marvel Rivals?

As the game is currently in its Closed Beta Test phase, there are currently no microtransactions that you can spend money on. However, it’s incredibly likely that this will change once it reaches its global launch.

From what we can see in the beta so far, there are plenty of opportunities to customise your characters, from new skins to new sprays. While some of these will be unlockable by completing weekly challenges as part of Galacta’s Quest, we can assume that certain bundles will be available to purchase from an in-game store for real money.

I’ve also spotted that players can unlock “Units’ as part of Galacta’s Quest, You can currently unlock cosmetic items by spending the Units you have. While this is currently the only currency in the game, it wouldn’t surprise me to see a second, purchasable currency available in the game when it launches fully.

The key thing to know is that as far as I can tell so far, there’s nothing that you’ll be able to purchase that will affect the gameplay of Marvel Rivals. As such, it should avoid falling into the trap of becoming pay-to-win, as all of the cosmetics we’ve spotted in the game so far are purely cosmetic.

If anything changes regarding the free-to-play model of Marvel Rivals, or if we spot new microtransactions you can purchase, I’ll be sure to update this article.