The latest Marvel Rivals update dropped on Thursday, December 18. NetEase added another event, celebrating winter holidays and adding a fun game mode. However, the update also removed some game modes, and interestingly, this change wasn’t published in the recent patch notes.

After the update went live, the Marvel Rivals developer issued an official clarification regarding the disappearance of certain modes. If you were wondering whether this is a bug or not, NetEase has an answer for you. Unfortunately, you may not be happy with it.

The recent Marvel Rivals update removed several game modes

Once the December 18 update came out, many Marvel Rivals players noticed that some modes were removed from the game. Shortly after, NetEase clarified that this was an intended change. For some reason, the game developer did not reveal it in the patch notes, which is why some members of the community thought it was just a bug.

The development team confirmed that they are rotating modes to ensure the player base remains healthy and isn’t “spread too thin” across too many different queues. To keep matchmaking times low and matches full, NetEase limited the Arcade section to the following game modes: Free Fight, Conquest, and Doom Match.

While the latest update has mostly received positive feedback, especially after bringing back some of the rarest skins, many casual players are disappointed with the Arcade change.

While these three modes are currently available in the game, we expect them to rotate out soon. Furthermore, the Marvel Rivals player count has been great lately, which is why NetEase may add an additional Arcade mode in the future.

Fortunately, the 18 vs. 18 Annihilation mode is still in the game. There was some panic that the chaotic mode was also removed, but this is not the case. In fact, the Marvel Rivals developer revealed that Annihilation is now a permanent game mode, and it has its own entry in the game mode selection.

NetEase will likely change game modes in the future. In the meantime, check out Marvel Rivals codes if you are looking to get free cosmetics, as well as guides on how to unlock a free Iron Man skin and Magneto’s free skin from the new event. You’ll be able to earn free Units with the Christmas event soon, so keep an eye out for it.