Marvel Zombies to Return in Days as Free Game Announced

Zombies crop up bizarrely regularly across all of Marvel's properties, whether it be in comic book form or in the very recent Marvel Zombies tv show, which actually turned out to be one of the better animated efforts of the last year or so.

Now, they are about to return once again, only this time in video game form, as Marvel Rivals gets its first ever PvE mode, where the dead have risen and our heroes have to take to the streets to put them down.

Over on Twitter, the official Marvel Rivals page announced the move, saying, "The first-ever PvE mode: Marvel Zombies is coming on Oct 23, 2025 UTC. This new mode throws you and your squad into a relentless fight for survival against endless waves of the undead. The city's burning, the infected are rising - and it's up to you to hold the line. Get a sneak peek now, and stay tuned for the official trailer coming soon!"

The new mode will allow players to teams up to take on the hordes of undead, in a less competitive experience than the game usually offers. There are some important caveats to be aware of though.

First up, you'll only be able to play as one of Thor, Jeff, Magik, The Punisher, or Blade, with each having a unique ability that will help the deal with the high number of undead enemies.

Blade is armed with a bouncing Moon Blade that he presumably borrowed from Moon Knight. Jeff will be able to attack groups like the little chunky shark he was born to be. Thor is able to shock zombies but only whilst in his Awakened state, and Magik has an unlimited Darkchild form.

Those bespoke abilities are presumably the reason that the entire roster of heroes isn't available to choose from in the zombies mode, though more may join later if it proves to be a success.

The end of each round will see you take on a zombified version of Namor, followed by the Queen of the Dead if you manage to come out on top. These set-piece boss battles are unlike anything we've seen in the game to date, and it could be what's needed to boost its popularity once again.

Though Marvel Rivals was very successful in its first year, it has lost 85% of its player base over the last ten months, according to a report from Forbes.

NetEase will be hoping to turn that trend around quickly, and modes like this will be one of their primary ways of doing so.