Marvel Rivals' first ever PvE mode drops on October 23, 2025, and it's based on the Marvel Zombies Disney+ TV show. The new mode's announcement was a surprise reveal at the end of a panel featuring Marvel Games' executive producer Danny Koo at this week's Gamescom Asia x Thai Game Show in Bangkok, Thailand.
"The city's burning, the infected are rising — and it's up to you to hold the line," the team teased. "Get a sneak peek now, and stay tuned for the official trailer coming soon!"
In the video, below, Marvel Studios' head of streaming, television, and animation Brad Winderbaum sat down with Koo to explain that Marvel Rivals is teaming up with Marvel Animation "to bring you our first-ever PvE mode: Zombie Mode."
In this Marvel Zombies-inspired mode, you'll get to play as Thor, Blade, Magik, Jeff, and the Punisher, taking on "endless waves of zombies." You'll have to survive the horde and go "toe-to-toe" with bosses Zombie Namor and the Queen of the Dead.
"We've also given each hero some unique abilities," Koo explained. "Charge through the hordes as Jeff, slice and dice with Blade's bouncing Moon Blades, shock zombies with Thor in his persistent Awakened state, or go berserk as Magik in her unlimited Darkchild form. Showcase your epic combat skills against the zombie swarms and tough bosses!"
The mode rolls out just in time for the spooky season on October 23, on PC (via Steam and Epic Games Store), PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X and S. Speaking with IGN after the new mode's announcement, Koo mentioned that PvE is something that fans have been asking for since "the first two weeks after launch", and that Marvel Zombies could be just the first of many PvE modes on the way to Marvel Rivals.
“If the Zombies PvE works out well then we’ll retain it, but we also want to explore other PvE game modes that aren’t Zombies," said Koo. "But there’s a lot of learning to see players’ behaviour, how they team up with each other, the relationship between them, how long they stay in one area, and what sort of story they experience. And with that feedback, we should be able to craft other interesting stuff outside of the Zombies mode.”
Marvel Zombies, meanwhile, recently made its debut on Disney+. IGN's Marvel Zombies full season review returned an 8/10. We said: "Marvel Zombies may be formulaic at times, but the series succeeds by giving us exactly what the MCU hasn’t in recent years."
Vikki Blake is a reporter for IGN, as well as a critic, columnist, and consultant with 15+ years experience working with some of the world's biggest gaming sites and publications. She's also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.