Marvel Rivals has launched with crossplay, allowing players across different platforms to battle it out. However, one crucial feature is currently missing: cross-progression. This means your progress on one platform doesn’t carry over to another. While developer NetEase Games has confirmed that cross-progression is in development, the timeline remains uncertain.
Implementing cross-progression across different platforms is a complex undertaking. Consider Apex Legends, which took four years to implement this feature. Hopefully, Marvel Rivals players won’t have to wait quite that long.
In an interview with Dot Esports, creative director Guangyun Chen acknowledged the challenges, stating, “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.”
Typically, cross-progression relies on a centralized account system. NetEase Games already has such a system, although it isn’t currently required for Marvel Rivals. Players can, however, link their accounts to Twitch for in-game rewards. The existence of NetEase Games accounts suggests that cross-progression might be feasible sooner rather than later.
However, there are potential hurdles. Reports suggest that Sony has a revenue-sharing requirement for cross-platform content, meaning developers might need to share profits from sales with PlayStation. This information surfaced in a post on X (formerly Twitter) a few years ago and resurfaced during the Microsoft-Activision merger discussions.
Path of Exile 2 faced a similar challenge and implemented a workaround by enabling cross-progression with PlayStation but separating microtransactions into PlayStation and non-PlayStation purchases. NetEase Games has several options to navigate these potential obstacles, so there’s reason to be optimistic that cross-progression won’t be too far off.
Marvel Rivals recently announced a major update on December 20th, including new content and skins. If you’ve been considering trying the game, now’s a great time to jump in.
