Marvel Rivals Season 10 will introduce only one new playable hero, with NetEase confirming that Season 10.5 will not add a second character. Gorr the God Butcher will join the roster when Season 10: Butcher’s Blasphemy launches on September 11, while the mid-season update will instead focus on new Path to Doomsday content. The change temporarily breaks the game’s established pattern of adding another hero during the .5 portion of a season.
The decision was detailed in NetEase’s latest Season 10 developer presentation. Rather than introducing another character alongside the mid-season update, the team plans to concentrate on Phase 3 and Phase 4 of Path to Doomsday, with two new game modes tied to the ongoing Marvel Cinematic Universe-themed event. NetEase has also indicated that this is a one-season change rather than a permanent reduction in the game’s hero release schedule.
Gorr remains the sole new character confirmed for Season 10. The Duelist was formally revealed through the Season 10 trailer, which places the God Butcher at the center of Butcher’s Blasphemy and its conflict involving Thor and Loki. He fights using All-Black the Necrosword and is designed around aggressive melee combat, mobility and Black Berserker summons.
Season 10 will still receive substantial content outside the hero roster. NetEase has confirmed a new Domination map called God Quarry, which is scheduled to arrive on September 24, alongside seasonal events, cosmetic additions and a broad set of balance changes. The developer presentation also outlined changes affecting a large portion of the existing roster, including a significant Scarlet Witch rework and adjustments to Competitive hero bans.
The absence of a Season 10.5 hero is notable because Marvel Rivals has regularly used its mid-season updates to introduce a second character. Season 9, for example, added one hero at launch before The Hood arrived with Season 9.5, maintaining the two-character structure players had come to expect. That cadence had also encouraged speculation that another leaked Marvel character could arrive after Gorr, but NetEase’s latest announcement rules out any second Season 10 addition.
Nightcrawler had been one of the most frequently discussed possibilities for the mid-season slot following earlier leaks and datamined material. Those reports should now be separated from the confirmed Season 10 roadmap, as NetEase has not announced Nightcrawler for Season 10.5 or provided a release date for him. Any assumption that a previously leaked character would automatically fill the second half of the season is no longer supported by the official schedule.
Instead, the .5 update will expand Path to Doomsday, NetEase’s continuing series of modes and events inspired by Marvel’s Avengers films. The upcoming phases will focus on content associated with Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, replacing what would normally have been the season’s second hero release. Additional details about those modes are expected closer to the mid-season update.
The change also comes amid unusual story developments surrounding Loki. Ahead of Season 10, Loki was disabled in several Marvel Rivals modes while remaining available in Competitive, with NetEase initially offering no explanation. Season 10’s Gorr storyline has since placed Loki directly in the God Butcher’s path, linking the temporary removal more closely to the new season’s narrative.
NetEase has reassured players that the slower hero cadence will not continue into Season 11. According to the developer presentation, the game is expected to return to its usual two-hero seasonal structure after Season 10, making Butcher’s Blasphemy an exception rather than the start of a new release model.
Marvel Rivals Season 10 begins on September 11 with Gorr the God Butcher as its only new playable hero. Season 10.5 will then shift its focus to two new Path to Doomsday modes instead of another character, with the standard two-hero cadence scheduled to return in Season 11.
