Marvel Rivals Season 8.5 launches on June 12, 2026, bringing a host of new content, including a new hero, map, lore, and significant PC performance enhancements. Servers will undergo approximately two hours of maintenance starting at 09:00 (UTC) on June 12.
New Hero: Cyclops Joins the Roster
Scott Summers, Cyclops, officially enters the Marvel Rivals battlefield. Players can now command the leader of the X-Men with his signature optic blasts.
New Map and Game Mode: K'un-Lun: Shenloong Arena
The long-awaited Tournament of the Heavenly Cities has begun, introducing the new K'un-Lun: Shenloong Arena map. This map supports the Bounty Annihilation (18 VS. 18) game mode. Note that this new map mode is temporarily unavailable on Xbox Series S due to performance limitations.
New Lore and In-Store Content
Season 8.5 expands the game's narrative with new lore entries:
- Cyclops Lore - Clear Eyes, Full Hearts
- Daredevil Lore - Clearing the Path
- The Punisher Lore - One Last Shot
The in-game store receives several new bundles and accessories:
- Magik - Soulless Sword Bundle
- Cyclops - Weapon M Bundle
- Phoenix - White Crown Phoenix Bundle
- Cyclops - Shadowed Gaze
- Magik - Soulless Sword Chroma Green Glow/Neon Nemesis and Ultimate Ability VFX
- Cyclops - Weapon M Emoji Bundle
- Magik - Soulless Sword Emoji Bundle
- All-New Accessory: Jean Grey Plush
These items become available from June 12th, 2026, at 09:00:00 (UTC).
616 Vault Re-release and New Event
To celebrate the Marvel 616 Universe, the 616 Vault opens for a two-week comeback sale from June 12. Re-released content includes:
- Limited-Time Bundles:
- Psylocke - Breezy Butterfly Bundle
- Loki - Robe of Relaxation Bundle
- Invisible Woman - Azure Shade Bundle
- The Punisher - Aqua Arsenal Bundle
- Cloak & Dagger - Polarity Bond Bundle
- Winter Soldier - Polarity Soldier Bundle
- Limited-Time Events: Summer Special, Summer Special Vol.2, Ancient Powers Awaken, and Queen's Codex.
This event runs from June 12th, 2026, 09:00:00 to June 26th, 2026, 02:00:00 (UTC).
The Shenloong Tournament event also arrives, allowing players to unlock the Groot - Ironwood Serpent costume for free by completing event missions. This event runs from June 12th, 2026, 09:00:00 to July 10th, 2026, 09:00:00 (UTC).
Esports and Twitch Drops
New event missions have been added for the playoff phase of the Marvel Rivals Ignite Series: Stage 1. Players can earn rewards by submitting playoff predictions and tuning into the in-game broadcast.
A new round of Twitch Drops begins with Season 8.5, featuring the Storm - Will of Galacta costume and related bundle content. Drops are available from June 12th, 2026, 12:00:00 (UTC) to July 10th, 2026, 09:00:00 (UTC).
New PC Features: NVIDIA DLSS 4.5 Super Resolution
This patch introduces NVIDIA DLSS 4.5 Super Resolution for PC players, offering new DLSS model preset options:
- Performance Mode: Utilizes traditional CNN models for boosted frame rates, ideal for fluidity.
- Quality Mode: Employs the second-generation Transformer model for finer edge details, crisper visuals, and improved temporal stability, reducing artifacts.
Additionally, GeForce RTX 50 Series GPU users can now experience DLSS Multi-Frame Generation with up to 6x generation for enhanced fluidity on high-refresh-rate displays.
Fixes and Optimizations
Heroes
- Black Cat: Fixed an issue where her Cat's Cradle ability would grant multiple stacks of Fortune when hitting several enemies; now grants a single stack per use.
- Devil Dinosaur: Addressed an anomaly where Devil Dinosaur could retain abnormally high movement speed after his Ultimate if affected by Jeff the Land Shark's abilities.
Maps
- Dimensional Stitching: Fixed various map collision issues that could cause characters to get stuck on environmental geometry.
