In this guide
What is Marvel Rivals?
Marvel Rivals is a third-person shooter online multiplayer video game. In the game, players control characters from Marvel Comics and the Marvel Cinematic Universe, such as Spider-Man, Black Panther and Captain America. Players must fight against other players in maps based on locations from the Marvel Universe.
Marvel Rivals is playable on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S and Windows. It is a free-to-play game, with players being able to download the game and play it online for free. They can do this even if they do not have an online subscription for Xbox and PlayStation.
Marvel Rivals supports cross-play. This means kids can play with other players who are using different consoles. For example, a PlayStation 5 user can play with an Xbox Series X/S user.
In-app purchases are available, in the form of a battle pass and an in-game currency called Lattice. These give access to alternate outfits for characters. However, players can use any character without paying for them, so in-app transactions are cosmetic and not necessary to play.
The rating for Marvel Rivals is PEGI 12, meaning it is appropriate for anyone aged 12 and over.
How it works
In Marvel Rivals, users select a character from a range of nearly 40 Marvel characters and then engage in a fast-paced 6 vs 6 battle with other real players online. There are various objective-based game modes, such as Domination in which teams must compete to control parts of the map and Convoy where teams must escort a moving shipment.
These game modes rely on teamwork, with all the players needing to work together to achieve their objective. During gameplay users can strategize together using the game’s built-in voice chat feature.
The developers still update Marvel Rivals regularly, adding new maps and characters to the game. This keeps content fresh and gives players reason to continue playing the game even if they had previously become bored of it.
The game operates with a free-to-play model, so it makes money through in-game transactions. These transactions focus on cosmetics, meaning they only change how characters look rather than providing any in-game benefits. Most of these different ‘skins’, changing how the characters look, cost around £15. Because of this, players do not need to spend any money on Marvel Rivals to compete against other players.
Marvel Rivals parental controls
Marvel Rivals does not have any real parental controls. Parents can still take some steps to protect their children while playing Marvel Rivals using the game’s settings.
Using the settings, parents can mute or block other players to prevent their child’s exposure to inappropriate language or abuse in the game’s in-game chat. They can also disable the voice and text chat altogether to stop anyone from talking with their child.
However, there is no parental lock or age gate. This means children could change these settings back themselves without their parent’s knowledge.
Parents can set controls on the game using the console’s in-built settings, or Microsoft Family Safety on PC, allowing them to limit their child’s screen time and restrict their in-game spending.
Benefits of Marvel Rivals
- Free-to-play, in-game spending is not necessary
- Based on one of the most popular franchises
- Cross-play, children can play with friends on other consoles
- Regular updates
What to watch out for
As an online multiplayer game, Marvel Rivals does contain some risks to children and younger gamers.
If you do not turn off the in-game chat, or if your child turns it back on, your child will communicate with strangers and might encounter inappropriate language or harassment. Teaching your child how to block and report any player that makes them feel uncomfortable will help them have a better experience on the game.
In-game transactions are relatively expensive, with skins costing around £15 each. Setting controls on the device that your child is playing the game on will allow you to limit how much they spend. you can also support your child by talking to them about in-game spending. Read our in-game spending guide to learn how you can help your child understand in-game transactions.
Marvel Rivals is an engaging video game and if left to play unsupervised, children might spend excessive amounts of time gaming. Spending too much time staring at a screen can negatively impact a child’s sleep and reduce their physical activity. You can set time limits for Marvel Rivals using the controls on your child’s device, but discussing and agreeing on boundaries with your child can create a more collaborative approach to balancing screen time. Learn how to manage your child’s screen time.
Some of the female characters in Marvel Rivals have overly sexualised designs, with unrealistic physiques and revealing clothing. This has led to the player base searching for and creating Marvel Rivals pornography online based on the game’s female characters. There is a chance your child may come across this when searching for information about the game. Visit our online pornography hub to learn how you can protect your child from seeing this content.
Other risks involved in playing Marvel Rivals are privacy-based risks that pose a threat when playing any online multiplayer games. For example, your child’s username being visible to others so they should not use their real name or include any identifying information. Find out how to deal with these online gaming risks in our advice hub.