The hero shooter is a vague genre, and no one really knows what game truly started it. A mix of a tactical first-person shooter game (Counter-Strike, for example) &, in my opinion, some aspects of a MOBA like League or Deadlock, hero shooters pit distinct characters of various types, or 'classes', against each other in team-based battles. Some say that the first of this genre was Battlefield 1942, which came out in 2002 and featured 'roles', which functioned similarly to a hero shooter's characters and classes, for players to choose from. Others will say Team Fortress 2, released in 2007 by Valve (and still somehow active) was the first of the genre, since it was the first to give each character distinct personalities & more unique and diverse traits.
However, there's no arguing that Blizzard Entertainment's Overwatch, which came out in 2016, was one of the most influential games of the genre. Overwatch was the first of its ilk to put its various characters in 'classes' which defined their role in tactical combat, being tanks, healers, and DPS (damage per second) characters. This is why I brought up MOBAs earlier; this was a choice likely inspired by those more strategy-based games. Overwatch exploded in popularity, reaching 10 million players in a matter of months, and inspiring several other developers to release games with similar elements like Valorant (Which leaned more into the fps side of things, a la Counter-Strike) and Apex Legends (Which added Battle Royale into the mix of things).
However, Overwatch waned in popularity over time, and despite the game being reshaped into Overwatch 2, released with much hype in 2023, player counts have been at an all time low. Enter NetEase; a relatively obscure developer in the West, NetEase is a titan in the gaming & streaming industries of China, a venture of which included operating Overwatch on Chinese servers. NetEase was looking into a breakthrough in Western gaming, founding an American division in 2023; they had partnered with Marvel Games, Marvel Comics' gaming divison, several times before on mobile titles. They needed something to fill the hero shooter vacuum, and they would have to make it quick.
In March 2024, it was announced. A hero shooter featuring everyone's favorite Marvel comics characters in a brand-new futurist style and setting; a redefinition of both the hero shooter genre and several of the game's featured characters. From Spider-Man to Jeff the Land-Shark, Marvel Rivals was incredibly varied in how it presented the world of the comics. It released in December of that year to critical acclaim, and personally, I think it's worthy to wear the crown of the best new hero shooter.
For one thing, the gameplay is incredibly smooth compared to similar games. The relatively high system requirements to play are a big hurdle for most systems, but on a next gen console it's a luxurious experience. There's little lag, few glitches, and when I die I rarely feel like it's undeserved or inconsistent (Looking at you, Counter-Strike). The character designs and voice acting give such life to the characters, and is a great way to introduce those I'm not super familiar with, like Magik or Psylocke (I was never much of an X-Men reader). The abilities, as well, are super fun to use; If the game is ever boring me, I can always queue up a casual match and play a random character I haven't tried before, then mess around with their unique powers.
In conclusion, I think the answer is yes, this game has taken the crown of the hero shooter genre from Overwatch. And if you won't hear it from me, hear it from the concurrent player count; Marvel Rivals, as I'm typing this article, has about 166,000 people currently playing it, while Overwatch 2 has less than 10% of that at near 15,000. The numbers speak for themselves.
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