Season 9 of Marvel Rivals launches July 10, 2026, and NetEase has packed the next four weeks with more content than most seasons manage in their entirety. A new Strategist hero, a major character rework, a full Team-Up system overhaul, an Egyptian-themed map, a cooperative PvE mode, and a steady stream of skins hitting the store every single week. This guide breaks down every confirmed date and exactly what drops on each one.
What's actually new in Season 9?
The headline additions go well beyond cosmetics. Three core gameplay systems are changing on day one, and the roadmap keeps stacking new content every seven days until Season 9.5 takes over on August 7.
Here's the complete picture at a glance:
July 10: What launches on day one?
Launch day is the heaviest single drop on the entire roadmap. Four major things happen simultaneously.
Jubilee joins as a Strategist
Jubilee arrives as a new Strategist, continuing the X-Men push that has defined recent roster additions. Her kit centers on Lumikinetic Explosive Light Blasts, which can heal allies and damage enemies at the same time. That dual-purpose output makes her a strong objective-control pick rather than a pure healer, and she should slot naturally into compositions that want a support hero with real offensive presence.
Jubilee Midnight Mutant skin
Three store costumes arrive alongside her: Jubilee's Midnight Mutant skin, Rogue's Raider Prime, and Wolverine's Horsemen of Death. A new Shogo Tote accessory for Devil Dinosaur also drops on the same day.
Team-Up system overhaul
This is the biggest mechanical change of the season. The old Team-Up system required specific hero combinations to unlock bonuses, which meant the benefits felt like rare accidents rather than something you could plan around. Season 9 changes that: every hero gets two Team-Up options available before the match starts, with enhanced effects still triggering when the matching teammate is present.
For a full breakdown of how the new system works across every Vanguard pairing, the Season 9 Vanguard Team-Up guide covers all 26 abilities and the best combos to run.
Black Widow rework
Black Widow gets a significant overhaul designed to push her toward a more active Duelist role. Her sniper rifle shifts to a DMR-style weapon for more consistent pressure, and her previous ultimate has been converted into a regular ability, giving her more frequent access to what was previously a cooldown-gated power spike. The goal is a faster, more mobile hero who can actually threaten dives rather than sitting back waiting for the right angle.
For a complete look at every hero adjustment landing with Season 9, the Season 9 buffs and nerfs breakdown covers Vanguard health reworks, Duelist damage cuts, and Strategist healing changes.
Battle Pass and launch events
The Faith-Harvesting Engine Battle Pass launches on July 10, themed around ancient Egypt and the Age of Apocalypse story arc running through the season. Two events go live the same day: Death of Apocalypse and The Resurrection of the Horsemen, both expected to offer free rewards including Units and potentially free skins.
July 17: Van Dyne Couture event and mid-month skins
The second week pivots away from system changes and focuses entirely on cosmetics and a new event pass.
Van Dyne Couture begins July 17, with Magneto, Invisible Woman, and Adam Warlock confirmed to receive new costumes from the event. Three additional store skins drop the same week: Gambit's Horsemen of Death, Hawkeye's Van Dyne Designs, and Devil Dinosaur's Jeff the Dinosaur costume, which replaces the massive prehistoric predator's look with a giant blue landshark aesthetic.
July 24: Thebes Convoy map arrives
Thebes is a brand new Convoy map built around an ancient Egyptian setting. It was not available at Season 9 launch, so July 24 marks the first time players can actually compete on it. Two store skins drop alongside the map: Hela's Temple Protectors costume and Psylocke's Horsemen of Death skin.
Thebes Convoy map overview
July 31: The busiest single day on the roadmap
The final day of July stacks three major content drops simultaneously.
Path to Doomsday: Avengers Age of Ultron PvE mode
The cooperative Path to Doomsday mode returns with an Avengers: Age of Ultron chapter on July 31. Players team up to fight Ultron rather than each other, offering a break from competitive queues while still earning rewards. The mode was previously postponed, so this is the delivery of content that was already anticipated.
Ignite Series Mid-Season Finals
The Marvel Rivals Ignite Series Mid-Season Finals also take place during the July 31 week, making it the most competitive viewing period of the season.
Four new store skins
Four costumes drop on July 31, timed around real-world releases:
- Spider-Man and Hulk both receive Brand New Day skins, timed to coincide with the Spider-Man: Brand New Day film release on the same date.
- Scarlet Witch gets her Avengers: Age of Ultron movie costume.
- Winter Soldier receives his Captain America: The Winter Soldier skin, complete with the tactical mask and chrome arm.
August 7: Season 9.5 and The Hood
Season 9.0 ends on August 7 when Season 9.5 takes over. The Hood (Parker Robbins) is confirmed as the next playable hero, with leaks pointing toward him joining as a Vanguard. His exact abilities have not been confirmed ahead of the mid-season launch.
With Jubilee arriving at launch and The Hood following five weeks later, Season 9 maintains the fast hero release cadence the game has run since launch.
The Hood arrives in Season 9.5
How does Season 9 compare to previous seasons?
The weekly content cadence is more consistent than earlier seasons. Rather than front-loading everything at launch and going quiet, NetEase has spread major additions across every week of the season: a new map on week 3, a PvE mode on week 4, and a new hero in the mid-season update. The Team-Up overhaul is also a more significant structural change than typical balance patches, touching every hero in the roster rather than adjusting a handful of outliers.
For context on what Season 8 looked like by comparison, the Season 8 roadmap guide has the full breakdown of that content schedule.
For everything else coming in Season 9, including the new hero details and global launch times, the full Marvel Rivals guides collection has you covered week by week as the season progresses.