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Marvel Rivals Season 3 Adds Phoenix And Blade, Introduces New Villain

Jean Grey aka Phoenix has been rumored to be Marvel Rivals bound for a while, and now it's official. NetEase has confirmed that Phoenix will arrive in Marvel Rivals Season 3 alongside Blade, the popular vampire hunter. But their mutual enemy won't be Dracula or any of the undead. Instead, the heroes of Marvel Rivals will be going up against one of Venom's deadliest foes: Knull, the King in Black and the God of Symbiotes.

Season 3 is subtitled "The Abyss Awakens," and it's going to launch on July 11. Phoenix will be joining the roster right away, and she will be classified as a Duelist. Even without the Phoenix Force, Jean is an immensely powerful telepath and telekinetic mutant. With the Phoenix at her command, Jean is fire and life incarnate, and imbued with the power of creation itself.

Marvel Rivals' new map, Klyntar: Celestial Husk, as a link to the Guardians of the Galaxy's favorite hangout, Knowhere. The entirety of Knowhere was constructed inside the severed head of a dead Celestial. The Celestial Husk is the rest of that Celestial's body.

In the Marvel Universe, Klyntar was believed to be the homeworld of the Symbiotes. Instead, it turned out to be the place where they imprisoned Knull eons ago. Once Knull is free, he can reclaim control of the Symbiotes and unleash mayhem in the universe.

Blade is being held back for the second half of Season 3 alongside a new competitive mode, but in the meantime there will be new features, a battle pass, system updates, and four new Team-ups. NetEase is overhauling Marvel Rivals' mission system and adding a new layer of customization to the accessories system.

NetEase is also offering verified university students free access to costume trials that will rotate each season. For now, this offer is limited to the US, the UK, and a few other places, but more regions will be added later. And going forward, Marvel Rivals will launch a new season every two months.

Fans heading to San Diego Comic-Con later this month will be able to visit the Marvel Rivals experience at the Marriott Marquis from Thursday, July 24 to Sunday, July 27. On Friday, July 25, Comic-Con will host the Marvel Rivals: Hero Creation from Concept to Showcase panel, with guests, start time, and location to be announced.

This fall, The Art of Marvel Rivals will give fans a behind-the-scenes peak at the creation of the game's character designs and locations. One of the most recent additions to the game's lineup, Ultron, wasn't announced when Season 2 began. It stands to reason there may be more surprise characters in Season 3 as well.