Marvel Rivals devs are working on cross-progression but "a lot of platform-specific rules" are getting in the way
"Players will be the first to know" once it's implemented
Marvel Rivals has taken the gaming world by storm, and while it does have cross-play, cross-progression remains elusive due to "a lot of platform-specific rules."
In an interview with Dot Esports, creative director Guangyun Chen says: "Cross progression involves a lot of platform-specific rules, we’re still looking at it and how to solve it. Once the team is ready, once we’ve figured it out, we’ll be sharing to everyone and players will be the first to know."
As a free-to-play game, it's easy to just download Marvel Rivals on your PC and consoles, but it's annoying that you won't then have access to all your skins and unlocks across accounts. While it may seem like a no-brainer to us that we should just be able to link to a single account and have everything synced up, platform politics are far from simple.
One potential hiccup is the cut digital storefronts take when we buy cosmetics and other in-game purchases. Sony takes 30% of every purchase made via PSN, and it even faced a lawsuit over it.
Marvel Rivals developer NetEase is likely working on some deal that can appease Steam, EGS, PSN, and Microsoft. You'd think the fact that cross-progression would make players happy would be enough, but all these companies are businesses first and foremost, so they're not just going to leave money on the table. Since games like Fortnite can have cross-progression, we know it is possible.
You can all get a free Jeff the Land Shark spray if you read the Marvel Rivals digital comic, though, so go ahead and claim that on your preferred platform.
In the meantime, check out our Marvel Rivals tier list if you want to try out some of the best heroes in the game.
Sign up to the GamesRadar+ Newsletter
Weekly digests, tales from the communities you love, and more
I'm Issy, a freelancer who you'll now occasionally see over here covering news on GamesRadar. I've always had a passion for playing games, but I learned how to write about them while doing my Film and TV degrees at the University of Warwick and contributing to the student paper, The Boar. After university I worked at TheGamer before heading up the news section at Dot Esports. Now you'll find me freelancing for Rolling Stone, NME, Inverse, and many more places. I love all things horror, narrative-driven, and indie, and I mainly play on my PS5. I'm currently clearing my backlog and loving Dishonored 2.