Marvel Rivals esports will not switch to franchise model

NetEase has shared that there are no plans to switch to a franchised league model for its esports scene. The game will maintain its open ecosystem in the future, continuing to feature Seasonal Championships and Ignitebut is open to “all possibilities in the future”.

In an online interview with Jake Lucky, Adam Huang, head of esports tournaments for Marvel Rivals, said: “I think, at first, we are not going to do this, because it would restrict how we behave. We want to go independently so that we can organize everything individually. If everything goes well, we will consider all possibilities in the future.“.

A franchised league system consists of teams purchasing a permanent place in the league, eliminating the risk of relegation. Examples include the Call of Duty League with its city-based format, League of Legends, Mobile Legends: Bang Bangand more.

Marvel Rivals currently has a more open system. Season Championships allow any team or squad to compete. The series Ignite is a mix of invites from previous esports events, along with the best teams that have progressed through the open qualifiers.

Marvel Rivals and esports skins packs.

During the event Marvel Rivals IgniteNetEase also shared how it plans to expand the game’s young esports ecosystem. While a franchised league is unlikely for now, cosmetics and esports packages are being considered.

In the same interview, Huang said, “If we want to build this ecosystem, we have to do more than just the initial prize. We have to launch something similar to team packages, and maybe packages that contribute to players, teams, and the finals prize“.

This could work in a similar way to how Overwatch handles esports skins, either through OWCS team packs, themed to ranked templates and revenue sharing, or through an overall package that contributes to a tournament prize.

Marvel Rivals has released esports-related skins in the past, including. Twitch Drops which were launched to promote the mid-season finals of Marvel Rivals Ignite.