Fans know that Marvel Rivals will be a free-to-play game, but NetEase will earn money from cosmetics (e.g., skins, emotes, and highlight intros).
Many skins in the game cost real money or in-game points, but some will be given to players for free on launch day.
Free Iron Man Skin
Iron Man is one of the main mascots of the Marvel universe, so it makes sense that the skin players will get on launch belongs to Tony Stark.
The code will be available to anyone who follows Marvel Rivals' social media channels, so look for it on Twitter on launch day.
Looking at the armor, though, Iron Man Armor Model 42, with its black and gold motif, was introduced in 2012 in the Iron Man comics. The suit wasn’t originally designed for battle but was supposed to be used for more experimental technology.
The suit’s comic history likely won’t affect how Iron Man plays in the game, but it’s great to know that it does have a backstory behind it and isn’t just a randomly designed skin (but those seem to be abundant in Rivals as well).
Free Skin for PlayStation Plus Members
Besides the free Iron Man skin, PlayStation Plus subscribers are also getting some free goodies—specifically related to Spider-Man—which Sony famously owns.
Come launch day, PS Plus members will be able to get free skins for two heroes—Spider-Man and Peni Parker. The Scarlet Spider skin (based on Kaine Parker) will be exclusive for PS5 players, but the VEN#m bundle for Peni will be available for non-PS Plus members.
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Though the VEN#m suit may come from the Marvel comics, Evangelion fans know an EVA-inspired suit when they see one. Marvel Rivals even made sure to make the purple and green stand out more in the game.
click to enlarge + 2Take note: Peni’s EVA skin is going to be available for all players to purchase even outside of the PS Plus subscription, but it’s the Spider-Man Scarlet Spider skin that’s going to be available only to PS players, so that’s a bummer for any Kaine Parker fans that don’t play on PS5.
More Than One Way to Skin a Character
These are the free skins revealed for Marvel Rivals so far. No exclusives have been announced for Xbox or PC launchers like Steam or Epic Games yet.
With NetEase being notorious for milking cosmetics, there is likely going to be a lot coming to Marvel Rivals. Fans are hoping that skins in the game are more affordable this time. Even Overwatch 2 got flak for charging almost USD 20 for a skin.
Hopefully there will be some free skins down the line; and maybe there can be a way to earn some skins with the in-game points. Fingers crossed, you don't have to grind for a lifetime before anything is affordable.
Marvel Rivals is expected to launch on Dec. 6 for PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.
For more articles like this, take a look at our Marvel Rivals page.