Emma Frost’s Marvel Rivals reveal has taken the internet by storm. The moment she was revealed, Marvel Rivals got right back into the conversation on social media. And, though this is partially because of her appearance, there’s more to it than that.
Hero shooters like Marvel Rivals are all about selling players on the fantasy of playing as a certain character. Their distinct personalities and move sets are a huge part of what keeps players engaged.
You’ll see these traits in other extremely successful multiplayer games like Overwatch, League of Legends, Rainbow 6: Siege, Apex Legends, Zenless Zone Zero and pretty much any game that prominently features distinct characters with unique playstyles and personalities. It’s a tried and true formula.
However, Marvel Rivals takes it a step further. When other games release new characters, it’s often celebrated amongst the people who already play it. When Marvel Rivals reveals new characters, it’s an event that transcends the game and its community. What is NetEase doing differently from everyone else?
Marvel Rivals mastered down bad marketing for one key reason
Using sex appeal to sell a game or cosmetics isn’t a new concept. League of Legends has 18 skins for Ahri alone, one of the game’s most conventionally attractive characters, while having only 7 for Cho’Gath, a large monster character who’s been in the game for a longer time.
The reality is that free-to-play games have to make money, and devs tend to release the kind of content they think players will buy. However, it’s rare that a skin or character gets released for a game and everyone, even non-gamers, stops to look.
Emma Frost’s reveal, meanwhile, had people in awe of just her base model. She, like many other heroes in Marvel Rivals, has presence. For instance, popular streamer Eskay was stunlocked for a solid minute, and her reaction wasn’t exactly unique.
Ninja also got in trouble with his wife because of her reveal, although hitting that screenshot button was him sealing his own fate on that one.
Often in game development, devs refer to the ideal experience they design for a player as a “fantasy” – and no, not the kind of fantasy that has people flooding Google search with “Emma Frost Thighs.”
That’s fantasy is key to Marvel Rivals’ success: Character designs instantly sell you on the fantasy of playing them, and the gameplay is so good that it delivers on everything you imagined. Every hero feels like the complete package.
Not only does she bring a new type of fantasy to the Tank role that’s great for players who don’t fancy the idea of playing as a big, bulky, masculine character, but it also feels true to her original character in the comics while being a clear re-imagining. Beauty has always been a part of Emma Frost’s character, but her design in Marvel Rivals conveys her power and strength in a way that hasn’t been done yet.
It’s no wonder millions of people have Marvel Rivals in their thoughts again based purely on the reveal of a single character.
Sure, she’s attractive in a conventional sense, but she also has a soul. That’s a huge part of what people get so attached to: her personality, the way she carries herself, how she walks, how she talks. There’s more to her than out of context clips and screenshots on Twitter can possibly convey, and you’d have to actually play Marvel Rivals to learn more.
Before people even got to see gameplay, they were immediately sold on her as a character. Her appeal isn’t a matter of wanting to play as Emma Frost, they want to be Emma Frost. Someone can see this trailer and try the game purely based on who she is, not just what it’s like to play her.
It’s one thing to release a new character people already playing love, but it’s another entirely to to release a character so good that you can market your game to new audiences based on their reveal alone. League of Legends made an entire TV show that topped Netflix’s charts, and they still have a hard time getting people to actually try their game.
Emma Frost’s thighs are doing more for Marvel Rivals than marketing tactics that cost literal millions of dollars are doing for other games.
To provide an example of what the competition is doing, The First Descendant has marketed their characters in similar ways. They’re different games from a gameplay perspective, but post-launch buzz for both titles has been focused in large part around selling the player on conventionally attractive characters. So what’s the difference?
Hailey, the character in the above trailer, is clearly focused around dealing damage from range with a sniper rifle and dashing around with a grappling hook. Cool! But what’s she like? What’s her personality? How does she act? There isn’t really any way to tell just from looking at her.
Sure, she might be fun to play, but does that really appeal to people who aren’t already playing the game? Probably not.
The First Descendant is a perfectly fine game that’s doing alright for itself post-launch. However, there’s a reason one is topping the Steam charts while the other has lost the vast majority of its players in a matter of months.
Some may look at Marvel Rivals and believe that they’re going too far in sexualizing their characters, and that’s an entirely valid opinion to have. Hell, there is actual proof that they purposely change heroes’ proportions in skins to try and sell more of them. It’s a bit much.
But it’s also hard to argue with the fact that Emma Frost, Squirrel Girl, Venom, Psylocke, Spider-Man, and other heroes have grown in popularity. You’d think Marvel would be carrying Rivals’ popularity, but it’s the other way around. This game is reviving forgotten comic characters in a way not even the MCU could. NetEase have used Marvel properties to their fullest and created characters that are hard not to fall in love with.
It’s down bad marketing, but with an unmistakable heart and soul behind it. That is, among several other reasons, why Marvel Rivals has been so successful in an increasingly competitive multiplayer market.
