Marvel Rivals U-turns on plan to reset player ranks mid-season

Marvel Rivals has quickly U-turned on plans to reset player ranks twice per season, after an outburst of fan feedback against the idea.

Developer NetEase last night announced it would implement a mid-season rank reset "to shake up the battlefield" on 21st February.

Alongside this, the addition of Fantastic Four members The Thing and Human Torch were also confirmed, completing the superhero family's addition to Marvel Rivals' roster (and tying in nicely with Marvel's newly-released trailer for the Pedro Pascal-starring reboot).

But feedback to the sudden reveal of a mid-season rank reset was swift, and decidedly negative.

"This is an extremely demotivating idea to rank reset every 45 days," one fan wrote on social media. "This game is not a battle royale."

"No rank resets," wrote another. "It's not a fun and engaging mechanic stop resetting the ranks. I will stop playing this fkn game if you use this cheap tactic to grip players."

Roughly 12 hours later, and NetEase has this morning issued a fresh update - confirming that the mid-season ranked reset had been scrapped.

"We received a wealth of feedback from the community," NetEase confirmed. "A common concern was the pressure associated with having a rank reset every half-season, which has made participating in competitive mode less enjoyable. In light of the community's input, we have decided to make some changes.

"When the second half of the season begins, there will be no rank reset," the developer continued. "Players will retain their ranks and scores from the end of the first half. To earn new rewards, players simply need to complete 10 matches in Competitive mode and meet the relevant conditions by the end of the season."

Said one fan in response: "A dev team that makes adjustments almost immediately, unlike my teammates."

Marvel Rivals debuted late last year and quickly found an audience, despite an initially mixed criticial response. "NetEase's spin on the hero battler is complex and moreish, but rarely much actual fun," our Chris Tapsell wrote in Eurogamer's Marvel Rivals review.