Marvel Rivalscame out of the gate swinging last December, with 33 heroes and 8 maps available at launch, and a comprehensive roadmap detailing a bright future for the ambitious hero shooter. This all resulted inMarvel Rivalsamassing a total of 40 million active players by February 2025, which is an incredible feat, especially given how ruthless the live-service market has been over the last few years.
But where Marvel is knocking it out of the park, DC is stumbling at every hurdle. At first, it was the middling reception toGotham Knights, then the disastrous launch ofSuicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, and now it’s thecancelation of Wonder Woman and the closure of Monolith Productions. DC desperately needs a win, and James Gunn and Peter Safran have stated that aMarvel Rivalsequivalent is “totally possible.” But if DC does end up making a hero shooter of its own, it can’t be an exact clone ofMarvel Rivals.
A DC Hero Shooter Would Need to Chart Its Own Course
A DC Hero Shooter Would Need a Unique Premise
The general premise ofMarvel Rivalsis thatDoctor Doom and his 2099 counterparthave found a way to merge multiple timelines together. Called the “Timestream Entanglement,” this event affects the entire Marvel multiverse, allowing a range of characters from across multiple timelines to join forces. This also allowsMarvel Rivalsto deliver unique takes on classic characters, such as its version of Captain America, who has thawed out of the ice in 2099.
While multiverses are all the rage right now, a DC hero shooter might be better off avoiding them altogether. Or if that’s not possible, then it should ensure that its multiverse story differs fromMarvel Rivals' in some key way. For example,a DC hero shootercould focus on having multiple Elseworlds versions appearing at the same time, such as multiple Batmen variants working to stop a handful of Joker variants.
This would still give DC the opportunity to use a variety ofElseworld charactersand locations while offering a slightly different narrative approach, asMarvel Rivalsdoesn’t currently have many multiverse iterations of playable heroes.
The 2015 MOBAInfinite Crisiswas DC’s last attempt to produce a multiversal multiplayer game. It didn’t go so well.
A DC Hero Shooter Would Need a Distinct Gameplay Hook
This Elseworlds premise could then form the backbone of this hypothetical DC hero shooter’s gameplay. Each playable character would have several distinct visual designs and loadouts, each themed around an Elseworlds variant.
For instance, Batman’s three personas could be his classic design, aGotham by Gaslightvariant, and anAbsolute Batmanvariant. His classic persona could give him regular Batarangs and a grapple gun, while hisGotham by Gaslightvariant could have a range of stealth-based abilities, and hisAbsolute Batmanvariant could use his detachable Bat-Axe.
This could allow for some really diverse team compositions, with multiple players being able to choose the same hero with a different toolset. It might be difficult to balance such a character-heavy game, but this premise would be a great way for a DC hero shooter to stand out fromMarvel Rivals, and from other hero shooters on the market.
