Season 1 of Marvel Rivals, the hero shooter made by NetEase (NTES) and featuring Disney’s (DIS) Marvel characters, is set to launch on Friday, and with it come major changes. The biggest change is the introduction of two new heroes at the start of the season. The Fantastic Four are joining the game in Season 1 with Reed Richards and Sue Storm launching alongside the new season. Ben Grimm and Johnny Storm will release in the second half of the season, which starts sometime in February.
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Mr. Fantastic and the Invisible Woman will be released alongside the cosmetic skins of their evil counterparts, The Maker and Malice. NetEase will also offer 10 new skins to players who purchase the Season 1 battle pass. The battle pass will cost $10 and comes with skins for Loki, Moon Knight, Rocket, Peni Parker, Magneto, Namor, Iron Man, Adam Warlock, Scarlet Witch, and Wolverine.
Other Marvel Rivals Season 1 changes include balancing the game’s heroes and villains. Hawkeye and Hela are being nerfed while Captain America, Venom, Wolverine, Storm, and Cloak & Dagger are getting buffs. Jeff the Shark is also getting a clarity update for his ultimate attack.
What This Means for NetEase
Marvel Rivals entering Season 1 is a major milestone for NetEase and the first true test of its business model. The game is free to play, leaving NetEase to generate profits from cosmetic and battle pass sales. The game features a unique system for its battle pass, letting players keep it even after the season ends. This allows unlimited time to unlock the skins in the battle pass and may convince more players to purchase it.
Adding new skins and other cosmetics are major sources of revenue for NetEase. They also increase the appeal of Marvel Rivals, which could help draw in new players. The game hit an all-time high of 480,990 concurrent players on Steam shortly after its launch and has hovered around 400,000 concurrent players daily since then. However, those numbers are increasing heading into Season 1 with a 24-hour peak of 438,502. The game may see a new all-time high when the new season launches.
Is NTES Stock a Buy, Sell, or Hold?
Turning to Wall Street, the analysts’ consensus rating for NetEase is Strong Buy based on eight Buy and one Sell ratings over the last three months. With that comes an average price target of $113.06, a high of $125.50, and a low of $82. This represents a potential 23.91% upside for NTES shares.
