Marvel Rivals Season 10.5 launches on 9 October at 09:00 UTC with a randomised 2v2 mode based on Avengers: Infinity War. A 50-player PvE battle against Thanos follows on 22 October.
Thanos is not the only threat coming to Marvel Rivals this month. Season 10.5 launches on 9 October at 09:00 UTC with Path to Doomsday - Avengers: Infinity War. The compact 2v2 mode uses random hero drafts, upgrade cards and Infinity Stone abilities that can change a fight in seconds. According to official materials from Marvel Games and NetEase Games, the update is coming to PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S. Infinity War will be available when the season starts.
Infinity War becomes PvP
The new mode puts 12 players into six two-person teams. The teams are drawn from a pool of 13 heroes who appeared in the original film. Each round is a 2v2 death match set across the fields of Wakanda. The encounters are short, keeping the action moving instead of turning the mode into another full-length team battle.
The main twist is the draft between rounds. Players choose random cards that improve their hero's abilities and statistics. That creates different builds during the same match. As Noisy Pixel reports, the selection is not a fixed progression path. Each team must work with the cards it receives and make decisions with incomplete information.
Every team also receives an Infinity Stone at the start of the match. Each stone grants a different powerful ability. When a team is eliminated, its stone remains available for another player to claim. That makes the late rounds more dangerous. A team can lose a fight and still give its opponents a stronger route to the final showdown.
Endgame scales up
The next major phase begins on 22 October with Path to Doomsday - Avengers: Endgame. This mode leaves behind the small competitive duels. Instead, 50 players will gather in the ruins of the Avengers Compound to face Thanos and his army in a large PvE battle.
The announcement does not explain the objectives, enemy phases or progression for this mode. The player count and setting are confirmed. They make Endgame a very different proposition from the six-team structure of Path to Doomsday - Avengers: Infinity War.
For readers tracking how live-service games add content in layers, another recent update shows a different model. The Alters Complete Edition packages an existing campaign with additional content. Marvel Rivals is using a seasonal event to introduce separate PvP and PvE formats.
More maps and seasonal events
Season 10.5 will also expand the 18 vs 18 Annihilation mode with Alchemax Headquarters. The source does not give details about the map's layout or the exact changes to the mode. For now, the confirmed addition is the location itself, not a wider redesign of the large-team format.
Halloween content will arrive in stages. All Hallows' Glow begins after the 15 October update. It offers costume and cosmetic rewards through an event focused on carving. Night of Illusions starts on 29 October with an interactive puzzle experience described as suspenseful and thrilling.
The schedule gives the season a clear rhythm. The competitive Infinity War mode comes first. The large-scale Endgame battle follows. The Halloween activities then fill out the second half of the month. The announcement does not say whether any of these events require payment or whether the cosmetics are tied to a premium track.
What players can expect
Marvel Rivals continues to divide its roster into Vanguard, Duelist and Strategist roles. Team-Up Abilities remain part of the wider game, letting allied heroes combine their powers. Destructible maps still provide the environmental layer around shooting and hero abilities.
The new 2v2 mode is the most distinctive part of the update. Random drafting can reshape a match, while teams also compete for Infinity Stones. That should create more variation between matches than a mode where every hero enters with the same fixed loadout. The announcement gives no balance figures or rules for how the upgrades are limited.
Season 10.5 will also bring character balance changes. Published patch notes specifically identify adjustments or reworks for Iron Man, Phoenix, Gorr and Jubilee. For Iron Man, Micro-Missile Barrage gains targeting toward nearby opponents. The damage of each individual missile is reduced.
The confirmed schedule is tightly packed. Season 10.5 launches on 9 October at 09:00 UTC. All Hallows' Glow starts on 15 October. Path to Doomsday - Avengers: Endgame arrives on 22 October. Night of Illusions begins on 29 October. Marvel Games and NetEase Games have confirmed PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S as the supported platforms. They have not provided performance targets, access conditions or a complete rewards table.
That missing information matters less for the main feature than it would for a technical update. The disclosed value is in the rules and formats, not resolution or frame-rate claims. Season 10.5 is a substantial live-service refresh with a different competitive structure and a much larger cooperative battle behind it. Players will need to judge it by how well those systems work in practice, not by the Avengers branding alone.
In the card-driven mode, random drafting changes a hero's build during the match instead of before it. The Infinity Stone mechanic gives defeated teams a resource that can survive their elimination. That makes adaptation central to Path to Doomsday - Avengers: Infinity War. It is the strongest reason to watch Season 10.5 when it launches.
