Marvel Rivals is launching soon on a new platform. No, the popular superhero online PVP shooter isn’t coming to Nintendo Switch 2. Instead, NetEase has quietly announced that Rivals is getting a PS4 port. I can already imagine how loud an old PS4 will sound when Doctor Strange creates a portal.
On September 3, NetEase released a new trailer for the upcoming fourth season of Marvel Rivals, “Heart of the Dragon.” The new season arrives on September 12 and brings Daredevil to the game’s already large roster. However, at the very end of this slick, action-packed story trailer, NetEase included a bit of news. Seen briefly in the final moments of the trailer is the logo for the PlayStation 4. It seems the online superhero game is getting a last-gen port.
Word of this PS4 port first appeared earlier this week, with dataminers finding evidence on the PlayStation Store’s back end of a new PS4 version of Marvel Rivals. Today’s new teaser seems to confirm that, yes, NetEase is porting its blockbuster superhero game to the aging PS4. Sony’s old home console launched back in November 2013, nearly 12 years ago. And yet, Marvel Rivals will soon be playable on the old hardware. Some fans are confused as to why Rivals is making the backward leap to PS4 while it still lacks a Switch 2 port. It would seem logical that if Rivals can run on PS4, it can likely run on a Switch 2. Perhaps a lack of dev kits is to blame?
Regardless of all that, it is extremely wild to me that Marvel Rivals is launching on PS4 in 2025. This is a console that launched during the tail end of the first phase of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. This is a machine that arrived when Barack Obama was still president of the United States. And soon you’ll be able to play Marvel Rivals on it. Sure, it’s not the first time we’ve seen a current-gen game go backwards with a PS4 port. But it is still odd.
