Marvel Rivals Ignite – A $3 Million Prize Pool?
The hype behind Marvel Rivals may be starting to die down, but NetEase is investing in Marvel Rivals Ignite. Indeed, with a whopping $3 million prize pool, we’re breaking down this announcement and discussing how this fits into the long-term esports plan for Marvel Rivals esports.
$3 Million – Too Much Too Soon?
Let’s do a quick recap of Marvel Rivals so far:
- Release Date – 6th December 2024
- Break-out – in February 2025 reaches 40 million players (non-concurrent)
- Decline?
According to Steam Charts, there has been a bit of a decline for Marvel Rivals although it could never keep up the immense hype from the beginning for esports betting.
For example, here are the average player charts according to Steam since January 2025:
- January 2025 – 306,065
- February 2025 – 227,999
- March 2025 – 144,301
- April 2025 – 134,145
And that begs the question – is this investment of $3 million too much too soon for esports news?
Marvel Rivals Ignite – Perfect Timing?
Naturally, the opposite argument favours the timing of this investment.
So far, Marvel Rivals esports has peaked with the Marvel Rivals Championships. These tournaments featured prize pools of $14,500 and an open structure involving 20 teams per region.
In of viewership for Marvel Rivals esports, it’s looking like this:
- Marvel Rivals Creator Cup – 118,082 peak viewers
- Marvel Rivals Creator Cup 2.0 – 85,029 peak viewers
- Marvel Rivals Invitational: North America #2 – 71,099 peak viewers
As a $3 million investment, Marvel Rivals Ignite looks to focus these funds across all five regions, culminating in a $1 million Grand Final. While details are scarce, this is certainly a jump above for Marvel Rivals esports.
NetEase look to try and captivate the hype as soon as possible – the outcome and success of Marvel Rivals Ignite will likely determine the future of Marvel Rivals esports. Also, we’re not sure if the esport will be featured at the Esports World Cup.
