‘Marvel Rivals’ Adding A New Feature For Its First Anniversary

Emma Frost in 'Marvel Rivals' (Image: Marvel)

On December 3, Marvel Rivals on X posted a video to commemorate its first anniversary, featuring one of its heroes, Psylocke, in a brand-new, Strawberry Shortcake-esque “Daring Daifuku” skin. The caption read:

“Psylocke steps into the spotlight with a look no one expected – elegant, festive, and sharper than ever. ‘Psylocke’s new look caught me the most off guard. No one would have expected this lethal assassin to show her softer side in time for the holidays! I guess she misses home, but we can welcome her to this new world, can’t we?’ Available from Dec 4, 9 AM UTC – Dec 18, 9 AM UTC in Van Dyne’s: Grand Opening Event. Sweet style. Deadly precision. Psylocke delivers both.”

‘Marvel Rivals’ News

The latest patch, released on December 4, added a new feature to the Rivals’ Day – Times Square event screen tab titled “Van Dyne’s: Grand Opening.” The name Van Dyne may be a reference to the Marvel hero, The Wasp, whose civilian name is Janet Van Dyne. The Wasp is yet to join the Marvel Rivals roster, but perhaps this could be an indicator that she is not too far off.

Either way, Van Dyne’s: Grand Opening offers a limited-time hero bundle for Psylocke, which includes the “Daring Daifuku” skin, the Psylocke – Daring Daifuku emoji, a spray, an MVP animation, and a nameplate.

However, this bundle is only available until 9:00 UTC on December 18 and can only be obtained via gacha game. For the uninitiated, a gacha game is one based on the core mechanic of spending in-game currency to win random items; these are akin to loot boxes or pack openings.

This game works by having players spend their Units to pop random balloons, until they pop the balloon with the Psylocke skin inside. Each following subsequent attempt will raise the cost more and more. The official Marvel Rivals website clarified, “You could get it all for just 100 Units; or, if you’re really unlucky, it will still cost no more than 2,400 Units (was 2,500).” 2,200 – 2,500 Units is the standard pricing for hero bundles.

Apart from the featured game, players can join Rivals‘ Day – Times Square Countdown to midnight (UTC) on December 6, where they can witness a fireworks show, earn 200 Units and the epic title Rivals’ Day 2025.

Luckily, these rewards can still be claimed in Times Square up to 72 hours after the countdown ends.

Due to popular demand, the “Marvel Zombies” game mode has also been announced to extend its availability until 9:00 UTC on January 16. Marvel Rivals‘s own version of Call of Duty: Black Ops‘s zombie mode was set to end at the beginning of this month, but its engagement got it pushed into the next year.

The Marvel Rivals team has also created their own “Spotify Wrapped” in the form of a Rivals Rewind report. Players can win 200 Units by sharing their year-in-reviews.

More patch details can be found on the official Marvel Rivals website, marvelrivals.com.

Beyond that, we can only wait and see what the sophomore year of Marvel Rivals has in store.