Marvel Rivals marked its first anniversary with a substantial celebration event that brought free rewards, exclusive cosmetics, and new content to the popular hero shooter. Developer NetEase launched the "Rivals Day" festivities on November 27, 2025, giving players multiple ways to earn in-game currency, unlock a customizable Legendary skin for Jeff the Land Shark, and experience the brand-new Grand Garden PvP map.
Anniversary Event Launch Details
The Anniversary Celebration event began on Thursday, November 27, 2025, at 9:00 AM UTC. This timing placed the celebration slightly ahead of the game's actual December 6 release date anniversary. Players needed to download a new update to access the event content, and NetEase indicated that servers might be taken offline for one to two hours during the update deployment.
For players across different regions, the event launched at the following local times:
- Pacific Time: 1:00 AM
- Mountain Time: 2:00 AM
- Central Time: 3:00 AM
- Eastern Time: 4:00 AM
- Atlantic Time: 5:00 AM
- British Time (GMT/BST): 9:00 AM
- Central European Time: 10:00 AM
- Eastern European Time: 11:00 AM
- Moscow Time: 12:00 PM
- Gulf Standard Time: 1:00 PM
- India Standard Time: 2:30 PM
- China Standard Time: 5:00 PM
- Japan Standard Time: 6:00 PM
- Australian Eastern Time: 8:00 PM
Free Units Through Daily Logins and Team Challenges
The anniversary event offered players the opportunity to earn a significant amount of free Units, the game's in-game currency. Through daily login rewards available throughout the event week, players could claim a total of 1,500 Units by logging in each day, with 200 Units granted per daily login. This amount was described as sufficient to purchase various mid-tier cosmetic items from the in-game shop.
Beyond the daily login rewards, a group-focused event called "Rivals Assemble!" encouraged players to team up with friends. By completing challenges together, squads could earn points to unlock additional free Unit rewards. In total, including all available methods, players could earn up to 2,500 Units for free during the anniversary celebration.
Free Legendary Jeff the Land Shark Skin
One of the most anticipated rewards was a brand-new Legendary skin for Jeff the Land Shark, one of the game's fan-favorite characters. Dubbed "Jeff the Business Shark," this costume dressed the adorable creature in a Clark Kent-inspired combination of a suit and glasses.
Players could unlock this Legendary skin for free through the "Jeff's Break Time" event by completing a series of in-game matches and tasks before the event concluded. What made this skin particularly notable was its customization feature—players could collect accessories through the event, including different shirts and heart-eyed glasses, to personalize Jeff's appearance. This marked the first time Marvel Rivals introduced a customizable skin of this type, drawing comparisons to the Mythic skin system found in Overwatch 2.
Member-Exclusive Skins
While the Jeff the Land Shark skin was available to all players who completed the event challenges, the anniversary celebration also introduced two additional costumes that came with restrictions. New skins for Mister Fantastic and Invisible Woman were designated as "Member Exclusives," available only to paying subscribers of NetEase Gamer Premium. Players could unlock these skins by playing matches, but only those with active premium memberships could claim them.
New Grand Garden PvP Map
Alongside the anniversary rewards, NetEase released the Grand Garden map on November 27, the same day the celebration event launched. The developer dropped a trailer showcasing this new PvP map, adding fresh battleground content for players to explore during the festivities.
Additional Surprises Planned
NetEase teased that "more surprises" were in store for the first annual Rivals Day celebration, indicating that additional freebies and content would be revealed as the event progressed. The developer announced plans to release more rewards on December 4, 2025, suggesting the anniversary celebration would extend beyond the initial launch date.
Marvel Rivals' First Year
Marvel Rivals originally launched on December 6, 2024, as a free-to-play superhero shooter. The game quickly gained popularity and had progressed to its fourth season by the time of the anniversary event. The celebration was hosted by Galacta, the game's mascot character, who appeared in a video outlining the festivities and announced plans to hold a livestream for Rivals Day.
The anniversary event represented NetEase's effort to reward the dedicated player base that had supported Marvel Rivals through its first year while also providing incentives for new players to join the community.
