Marvel Rivals just revealed big news for the beginning of its Avengers: Doomsday crossover event. Marvel Rivals is officially one of two games to confirm Avengers: Doomsday tie-in events, although NetEase Games is taking its celebrations far beyond others. Fans will be treated to bi-monthly events across the year to celebrate all five Avengers blockbusters with special in-game content and modes, starting with The Avengers in April and culminating with Doomsday in December.
Marvel Rivals' latest Dev Vision update confirmed that Phase 1 of its Avengers: Doomsday tie-in event will launch with the Thursday, April 30 update, two weeks after Season 7.5 kicks off and adds Black Cat to the playable hero roster.
"Path to Doomsday: The Avengers Mode" will be an asymmetrical PVP mode inspired by 2012's The Avengers, with one buffed-up Loki with an "all-new skill set" taking on a team of six other players. It's unclear whether the six-man heroic front will be locked to the OG six Avengers from the 2012 blockbuster.
The original announcement for Rivals' MCU tie-in teased that Loki will have "powerful Infinity Stone abilities to turn enemies against each other." The heroes will also be able to claim victory by "[summoning] Hulk:"
"In this asymmetrical PVP mode, one player plays as Loki, facing off against six other players who play as different heroes. Loki is equipped with an all-new skill set, combining deception, illusions, and powerful Infinity Stone abilities to turn enemies against each other! To claim victory, the other heroes can also summon Hulk under certain conditions, recreating iconic scene from the film!"
An official Disney D23 Q&A with executive producer Danny Koo confirmed that the "Path to Doomsday" will "refresh everybody's memory" on the franchise and "go through iconic scenes" with a unique Rivals spin:
"We want to refresh everybody’s memory, and have a bit of nostalgia, for the previous Avengers films. So with that, on top of the already exciting 2026 lineup, we introduced the 'Path to Doomsday'—where we go through iconic scenes from 'The Avengers,' 'Avengers: Age of Ultron,' 'Avengers: Infinity War,' and 'Avengers: Endgame,' all leading up to Avengers: Doomsday. You’ll be able to 'relive,' and play Marvel Rivals’ take on, what happened during those times…"
Beyond that, the Dev Vision talk confirmed that the Times Square social hub will feature "a series of events" as creative director Guangguang calls for players to "celebrate the glory of the Infinity Saga right here in Marvel Rivals."
Marvel Rivals already has a lot to offer for MCU fans, even before the "Path to Doomsday" event, with many movie-inspired skins available for purchase and the first two episodes of Wonder Man screening in Times Square on select dates.
Marvel Rivals is available now and free to play on PC, PS5, PS4, and Xbox Series X/S, with a Nintendo Switch 2 port in the works for an unknown release date.
What to Expect From Marvel Rivals' Avengers: Doomsday Celebration Year
Interestingly, the Rivals executive producer confirmed that Loki will lead the year-long "Path to Doomsday" saga and "link all these events together." It's tough to tell exactly how that will work, given that the God of Mischief sat out Age of Ultron and only appeared briefly in Infinity War and Endgame due to his death.
June's Age of Ultron mode could follow a path similar to The Avengers, given that Ultron is already in the game as a playable healer character. Although it's tough to tell how Rivals will approach Infinity War and Endgame, unless the studio is cooking up a Thanos playable character, armed with the Infinity Gauntlet.
The developer will face a similar problem with Doomsday, as, while Doctor Doom has been involved in the game's storyline, he remains unplayable. Since the December blockbuster will seemingly see the MCU's Avengers and Fox's X-Men fight for the fate of their universes as an Incursion looms, perhaps Rivals could recreate that moment by limiting each team to either side.
