NetEase’s superhero hero shooter Marvel Rivals is no stranger to monetisation, but the game makes a lot of concessions to make sure its not infuriating its fanbase while making money as a free-to-play multiplayer game.
It goes without saying that there is a lot of monetisation in the game, Rivals also introduces plenty of free skins, new game modes, and frequent season updates that bring brand-new heroes and maps into the game. While some new additions do annoy fans—such as the introduction of Combat Chests—the community has been mostly fine with the game’s additions.
As game director Guangyun Chen tells FRVR in a new interview, that’s by design. While the game does trial new monetisation efforts, the team is wary to introduce anything that would split the fanbase or upset players by locking content behind paywalls they determine to be too egregious.
“We really believe that having a consumer-friendly monetisation system is super important,” the game director told us. “When we were working on MR, we established two fundamental design principles: first, to make the gameplay fun, and second, to encourage players to spend money based on their love for the game.”
Chen explained that by keeping the foundations of what the team is building strong, that helps push players towards buying items such as skins and emotes. While some games go all-in on aggressive monetisation from the off, the team behind Marvel Rivals are simply trying to earn players respect which, in turn makes them want to buy a skin.
“When players find the game enjoyable and immersive, they naturally want to invest in it,” Chen told us. “That’s when they’ll start picking up costumes and other cosmetics.”
It also helps that Marvel Rivals cosmetics are also well designed… for the most part. “We’ve put a lot of thought and care into designing our heroes’ outfits and the accessories looks, and we genuinely hope everyone enjoys what we’ve created,” Chen explained. “At the end of the day, it’s all about enhancing that connection between the players and the characters they love.”
Marvel Rivals’ monetisation is pretty damn good for a free-to-play game, especially compared to paid titles like Call of Duty, but there’s always room for improvement. Chen explained that the team is “really excited that players love our work and that it’s getting recognised in the market”. Sure, Rivals has lost players since release, but it’s still going strong, and a large part of that is that the game hasn’t taken its players for a loop since its massive launch.
