NetEase Games has properly welcomed all Marvel fans to Marvel Rivals Season 2’s Hellfire Gala, revealing a wardrobe of what appears to be new outfits and maybe even a few new playable characters.
The developer published a trailer today, showing off how the upcoming superhero party will shake up the meta come April 11 while finally bringing an end to months of speculation about what Season 2’s theme will be. There’s still much to be unveiled, but for now, it at least confirms the content will indeed center on the Hellfire Gala storyline, with X-Men regular Emma Frost and robot ruler Ultron playing key roles in its trailer.
“Once a year, this sovereign Mutant island opens its gates, welcoming both friend and rival alike to shape a brighter future,” an official description for Marvel Rivals Season 2 says. “Now stranded in the year 2099 by a raging temporal storm, the fate of Krakoa hangs in the balance, its ecosystem suffering from dangerous chronal energy.
“Can a night of glittering festivities bring unity over fine dining and dazzling conversation? Who among the attendees possesses ulterior motives or solely seeks to party? And who is the uninvited guest?”
Emma Frost is Marvel’s diamond-plated mutant and a force to be reckoned with, and she's been expected to join the roster for a while. The X-Men rep was first teased when NetEase mentioned a mysterious gala in an in-game Gallery Card in late February. For the keen-eyed fans who noticed it, this was all but confirmation that Emma Frost would be a playable character in Season 2.
Ultron, meanwhile, was teased long before Marvel Rivals broke onto the hero shooter scene late last year. While it is possible the metallic villain could be little more than this season's Dracula-like figure, he's past due for a proper, playable introduction.
April 11 will see Season 2 kick open the door with new heroes, skins, modes, and more, but one question is already starting to dig its teeth into the Marvel Rivals community: Where is Blade? Marvel’s infamous Daywalker vampire hunter was mentioned time and time again throughout Season 1 and even managed to pop up in-game in more than one instance. Many believed the hero was a lock for Season 2, but the community is growing concerned now that Blade appears to be a no-show at the Hellfire Gala.
She looks great but hearing that we aren't getting blade yet is still wild since the lore was kinda setting him up https://t.co/Egxrf1p2ZU
— Daboy🕷 🔜SWCJ (@Daboyui) April 3, 2025
.reddit-embed-wrapper iframe { margin-left: 0 !important; }
So where’s blade
— Jasper (@xxjsprr) April 3, 2025
Still, Marvel Rivals Season 2 is still poised to bring the project’s biggest update since first revealing The Fantastic Four for Season 1 in January, and Blade could always arrive later in the future, maybe even in Season 2. For more on how NetEase has turned Marvel Rivals into the powerhouse it is today, you can read up on why some players believed Marvel was planting fake hero leaks. You can also learn more about an April Fools’ update that gave Venom the power to twerk.
Michael Cripe is a freelance contributor with IGN. He's best known for his work at sites like The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be sure to give him a follow on Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).
