Marvel Rivals is off to a solid start, considering how many live service shooters have failed to hit the mark this year—and it's aimed to keep that momentum with its first seasonal event starting December 20, dubbed the "Marvel Rivals Winter Celebration", for which Netease released a trailer earlier today and, hold on, wait a minute, is that baby shark Splatoon?
Named "Jeff's Winter Splash", this 4v4 mode will see barber-shark quartets of players trying to blast the map with their particular colour in a way that is hopefully legally airtight, given Nintendo's recent big patent swings. Completing tasks in the event'll also let players get that fetching little jacket for the game's most adorable war crime. Just… try not to think too hard about the fact you're leaving the map covered in ice vomit.
Jeff's not the only critter getting a makeover, though. Venom's going all crystalline, Magik and Rocket Racoon are looking like guest stars in an SSX game, and Groot is a christmas tree, a decision I have to begrudgingly admit is very charming, even if I'm sure most of these rewards are going to be a pain to grind.
At the time of writing, there's not an end-date for the event—which is a little concerning, because if I'm being honest, I do really want to make my Jeff the cosiest little guy. I am not immune to microtransactions, or landsharks in red sweaters, but I also happen to have holiday plans away from my PC. I don't think 'I need to get my shark a sweater' is going to cut it as an excuse to miss Christmas dinner.
In the meantime, I'm just going to focus on chipping away at my battlepass challenges. While Netease has been handed a great amount of success based on its roll of the dice, we'll have to wait and see whether Marvel Rivals has staying power—which it'll need routine events like this to sustain. After all, the tryhard fatigue hasn't settled in yet, and Jeff the Land Shark might be less cute when he's at the middle of a balance controversy, or something.
