Marvel’s Rivals developer acknowledges the “pressure” to maintain high energy as it prepares for the second season of the Hellfire Gala.

The Marvel Rivals team has admitted it’s feeling “pressure” to keep the game exciting as it prepares its second season, which boasts a Hellfire Gala theme.

“Since the launch of season one, we’ve been deeply contemplating how Marvel Rivals can continuously deliver fun and engaging experiences for you all,” Marvel Rivals creative director Guangyun Chen shared in an accompanying Dev Vision video. The developer noted that “discussions on social media have certainly added some pressure on us to keep the game as exciting as it has been since December”, but the team wants to ensure it fulfills “everyone’s fantasies about Marvel Super Heroes”.

Hellfire Gala was initially a 12-part X-Men comic book storyline, and is now making its way to the free-to-play shooter. “After the intense Eternal Night saga and defeat of Dracula, Emma Frost has prepared a lavish celebration, inviting everyone to don their best attire and venture to the Mutant haven of the Living Island Krakoa for the annual Hellfire Gala,” the Marvel Rivals team teases.

Of course, things don’t go to plan, and Ultron eventually pops up and crashes the festivities. “Attending heroes must spring into action to protect Krakoa’s greatest treasure from his grasp.”

Season two kicks off on 11th April. Following this season, players will notice the developer shifting to a “two-month format”, and each month a new hero will make their debut.

As for the second season specifically, you may have surmised given that official blurb, when it launches, Emma Frost will join the roster of heroes, in a Vanguard role. She is a telepathy master, and can “adeptly utilise her telepathic and diamond abilities as the situation demands, standing at the forefront to shield her allies and obliterate her foes”. Ultron will also be arriving as a playable hero, but later in the season.

Meanwhile, as far as maps are concerned for the second season of Marvel Rivals, the first one coming is – understandably – Hellfire Gala: Krakoa. This map will feature the gala itself, which the development team describes as “grand” and full of “dreamy botanical landscapes and beautiful fireworks” (which, honestly, every party should have).

This season will also introduce some adjustments to the Marvel Rivals’ Team-Up Abilities, while the developer is “implementing weekly missions alongside the existing daily missions and challenges, which will help active players fully claim all rewards from the Battle Pass by the end of the season”.

You can check out the various patch notes for Marvel Rivals here. Meanwhile, you can watch a teaser for season two below.

Back in February, it was announced Marvel Rivals had amassed over 40 million players since its launch. Despite this success, NetEase laid off an unspecified number of the Marvel Rivals development team earlier this year.

Following this, the Marvel Rivals publisher said the layoffs were a “difficult decision” made to “optimise development efficiency” for the game.