3 January 2026

Marvel Rivals Releases Patch Notes for January 2026 Update

By newsgame

For the New Year, NetEase releases the first update for Marvel Rivals, bringing in an anticipated skin, a few important fixes, as well as an easy catch-up mechanic for those who may have fallen behind on their Season 5 battle pass progress. It’s as good a time as any for Marvel Rivals players to jump back in and potentially make some substantial progress on their battle pass before the upcoming new season arrives on January 16, 2026.

NetEase is looking to continue the momentum it saw starting back with the Marvel Zombies co-op event around Halloween, which led into Season 5 and the first anniversary content. The developer has already teased the arrival of Deadpool and Elsa Bloodstone to Marvel Rivals in Season 6, and there’s apparently a lot more on the horizon for 2026. Without giving away too many details, NetEase has called 2025 a “warm-up” for Marvel Rivals and that this year features much bigger plans for the popular multiplayer title. For now, the studio is kicking off the new year with some handy features.

Marvel Rivals Developers Tease Major Plans for 2026, Say 2025 Was a ‘Warm-Up’

While a staggering amount of content came to Marvel Rivals in 2025, NetEase is promising that 2026 will be even bigger for its hero shooter.

On January 1, NetEase released a brand-new update for Marvel Rivals, kicking off the new year in style. While not one of the bigger updates to have hit Marvel Rivals in the past, the January 1 update adds some highly anticipated features, including the arrival of a Lady Loki cosmetic skin, available from January 2 to the end of the month. Players can also snag a Lady Loki emoji bundle from the in-game store as well as the Jack of Hearts bundle for Human Torch, fitting with this season’s Gambit theme.

However, for most fans, the biggest piece of this update is likely to be the Chrono-Rush event, which serves as a sort of catch-up mechanic for those who may have lagged behind a bit on their Seasonal Battle Pass progress. From January 1 to the 16th, players can earn extra Chrono Tokens in Marvel Rivals simply by playing matches. Better yet, there’s no upper limit, so the more matches played, the more Chrono Tokens that are earned. Naturally, this is a great way to unlock more pages and content from the current Battle Pass.

FOr those who may have missed Marvel Rivals First Anniversary cosmetic bundles for Psylocke and Luna Snow, NetEase also has a bit of good news. The Luna Snow Cherry Delight and the Van Dyne’s Grand Opening event have been extended to January 16, 2026, which means players have additional time to collect the two unique skins. It’s unknown if they’ll be available after that date or if they’re instead disappearing, so interested players will want to act quickly.

However, that’s not all, as this patch also applied a number of fixes to the game as well. The Times Square social hub map has some odd countdowns appearing at times, which have been fixed, while “traversal emotes” in Marvel Rivals now only move forward instead of letting players manipulate them with the camera. Star Lord has also had his Wooden Whizbang emote improved with smoother movement, preventing it from looking like he was moonwalking around.

Marvel Rivals reveals its Season 5 battle pass.

Finally, the update also tweaked a trio of characters. Angela’s Assassin’s Charge had a small chance to carry targets into what the patch notes call “abnormal locations”, so the team has made sure that her flights land safely. Rogue’s Ultimate interactions with Winter Soldier during his “AGAIN” super could sometimes lead to “abnormal” Ultimate energy, which has been fixed. Finally, Emma Frost’s Hellfire Protocol costume made her Psychic Spear ability much louder than intended for impacted players, which has thankfully been fixed.

Marvel Rivals Update 20260101 Patch Notes

New Event: Chrono-Rush

As the season draws to a close, we’re launching the Chrono-Rush event to help everyone catch up on their Battle Pass progress! Earn extra Chrono Tokens by playing matches! Play more, earn more, with no upper limit! We hope everyone will be able to unlock all rewards in the pass before the season’s end.

Plus, the final page of the Luxury Battle Pass now includes an option to exchange Chrono Tokens for Accessory Points.

Event Duration: January 1st, 2026, 09:00:00 to January 16th, 2026, 09:00:00 (UTC)

New In Store

Loki – Lady Loki Bundle

Limited Time: January 2nd, 2026, 02:00:00 to January 30th 2026, 02:00:00 (UTC)

1. Lady Loki – Emoji Bundle
2. Human Torch – Jack of Hearts Bundle
3. Take a Seat Emote Combo Bundle

New Animations For:

Star-Lord, Scarlet Witch, Namor, Adam Warlock, Wolverine, Blade, The Thing, Iron Fist, and Black Widow.

Available From: January 2nd, 2026 at 02:00:00 (UTC)

Van Dyne’s: Grand Opening event and Luna Snow – Cherry Delight Bundle availability extended until January 16th, 2026.

Traversal Emote Optimizations

Star-Lord’s Wooden Whizbang traversal emote has been optimized for smoother movement; no more moonwalking!
All traversal emotes are now standardized to only move forward; change your facing direction by adjusting the camera.

All Platforms

Countdown Conundrum: Fixed an issue where incorrect countdowns could appear in Times Square. Time’s back on track!

Heroes

Angela’s Aerial Anomaly: Fixed a rare bug where targets carried by Angela’s Assassin’s Charge had a very small chance of appearing in abnormal locations. Her flights now land “safely” at their destination!
Rogue’s Winter Soldier Wipeout: Fixed an issue where Rogue’s Ultimate Ability could cause abnormal Ultimate Ability Energy when hitting a Winter Soldier during his Ultimate Ability AGAIN chain. Power absorption is now precise!
Emma Frost’s Mind Control Mayhem: When equipped with the Hellfire Protocol costume, Emma Frost’s Psychic Spear ability produced excessively loud hit sounds for affected players. Her psychic attacks are now subtle; no more mental noise!